Police: Man Breaks Into Arlington Apt., Rubs Sleeping Woman's Arm

Three residents of an Arlington County, Va. apartment complex have woken to a strange man either staring at them or touching their arm, police said.

All three cases happened within the past two weeks at the Meridian at Courthouse Commons Apartments in the 1400 block of North Taft Street. The building is filled with young women in their 20s; residents refer to it as "the dorm."

Police have a very vague description of the suspect, but in each case, the female residents were sleeping when they woke up to the unknown man staring at them.

Heather, who asked to be identified only by her first name, said she woke up and realized a stranger was staring at her.

"It was terrifying.... I just screamed and screamed and hoped he would leave," she said. "He was blocking the entrance to my door so I couldn't leave my bed.... And so I was just happy that he eventually moved out of the doorway and out of my apartment."

Six days later, another victim woke up to see a man of a similar description rubbing her arm. He fled when he realized she was awake.

"It's disturbing," said another resident.

Authorities did not say how the man may be getting into the units. The building requires key card access at night.

Building management posted a notice in elevators Friday warning residents to lock their deadbolts and not allow anyone unknown to follow them into the building.

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