Neighbors on edge after attempted break-in, sex assault at Gastonia apartments

GASTONIA, N.C. — Children said they woke up Thursday morning to hear someone trying to break through their Gastonia bedroom window.

It is the same building off East Hudson Boulevard where a burglar sexually assaulted a woman in her home. In the case last month, police released a sketch of the suspect, but are still searching for the person responsible.

Officials said the attempted break-in happened just before dawn while the children were asleep at the Quail Woods Apartments.

They said a sound at the window of their room woke them. They alerted their mother and she called 911.

"Someone just woke my kids up trying to get into their window," the caller said.

"They wasn't having this kind of issue before. Then somebody just decided they could do this to us. Terrorize the neighbors here," the caller said.

The children said they saw the shadow of what they believe was a man. The mother's boyfriend said he also heard someone trying to get inside.

Police said the man ran away, but police want to know if the person at the window was the same man who was caught on video peering into neighbors' homes and pulling on sliding glass doors in the same complex last month, just days after a sexual assault and burglary nearby.

Neighbor Angie Camden, who lives in Quail Woods, said after the reported sexual assault and release of the video, things got quiet in the community. She said she hoped things would stay that way.

"It's very disturbing. It's alarming," Camden said.

Neighbors said they want the cases solved so things can go back to normal. They said last month, they were more cautious, but got more comfortable recently.

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