CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two extremely unusual and frightening crimes have Charlotte-Mecklenburg police searching frantically for clues.
In the early morning hours of Monday, two women reported being rear-ended and then attacked by the man driving the other car.
The first incident happened in south Charlotte. Police said two women were driving near Runnymeade and Colony roads around 2 a.m. when they were rear-ended by a man. Investigators said when the driver got out of the car to check for damage, the man pulled out a gun and demanded money. The man forced the two women to drive to an ATM, but they could not withdraw any money, according to officers. The man then forced the women to drive to the 3000 block of Ferncliff Road, where he raped the driver and fondled the passenger, officers said.
In the second incident, according to a police report, a 22-year-old woman was driving home around 2:30 a.m. Monday when she was also rear-ended by a man near the 700 block of McDonald Avenue in Dilworth. The woman reported that when she got out of the car to check for damage, the man robbed her at gunpoint and then drove off.
That news was on a lot people's minds in Dilworth who said they're rethinking something that once seemed routine.
"You just assume you get out of your car, you exchange information," patron Joann Stylianos said. "But now I'll definitely think twice before doing that."
Now, police are devoting lots of time and energy to finding the man responsible.
"This is a priority for the entire investigative unit," Capt. Mike Smathers said. "It's getting unlimited resources."
Smathers admits that leads are almost non-existent.
Officers have only a vague description of the suspect -- a thin black man with a goatee -- and don't know the make or model of the car he was driving.
A possible lead could be in the form of an abandoned car.
In the first incident, the gunman forced the victims to drive to an ATM in their car, leaving the car he was driving behind for the amount of time he was with those victims.
Police said he left it along the side of the road at Runnymede and Colony between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Monday. Now, they're hoping someone driving through the area around that time will be able to tell them what the car looked like.
The victims described the car only as a small, dark-colored car.
Detectives said they are concerned about the possibility that the man could strike again.
"The brazen nature of it alone makes you concerned that it could happen again," Smathers said. "We have no indicators that it will, but we're obviously concerned that this person will offend again."
Despite pleas for help, police said, as of Tuesday afternoon, no calls had come in to Crime Stoppers about the incident.
If you were driving through the area between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Monday, police want to hear from you.
If you have any information about either incident, call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.