JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville police released surveillance images Friday of a man they say is wanted in connection with an armed robbery and rape at a Southside motel.
The Sheriff's Office said the victim was attacked Wednesday afternoon at the Country Inn & Suites on Salisbury Road near A C Skinner Parkway.
The victim was robbed and raped at gunpoint before the attacker fled the scene in a white vehicle, police said.
News4Jax spoke with people staying at the hotel, including Don Ashcraft. He and many other people were placed there by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after they lost their homes during Hurricane Irma.
Ashcraft said he saw the man in the images released by police.
"I think he was staying with somebody else," he said.
Ashcraft said it's unnerving knowing such a vicious attack happened to someone he met while staying at the hotel.
"It's to the point where we want to switch motels," Ashcraft said. "I hope they catch him and justice will prevail."
Anyone with information about the man's identity or whereabouts is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS (8477).