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A woman was attacked and nearly raped near Bethesda's Sumner neighborhood Friday evening, police said.

At approximately 6:50 p.m. Montgomery County Police responded to a call for an attempted rape of a 19-year-old woman near the intersection of Sangamore Road and Westpath Way in Bethesda, said Officer Meghan Duffey, a police spokeswoman.

The woman was selling magazines door-to-door when she first encountered the suspect, Duffey said. The two spoke for a moment about what the woman was selling and then she continued on her way.

About 15 minutes later, the victim heard someone running toward her, and turned to see the suspect. She ran to the nearby Washington Waldorf School where he knocked her to the ground, assaulted her, and attempted to remove her pants.

The victim fought off her attacker and ran to The Shops at Sumner Place, a shopping center, where she located a police officer. She was then taken to a hospital for facial injuries, Duffey said.

"It's very bold for some to do this," at this time of day, Duffey said. "However it was getting close to 7 o'clock, the school was probably empty and kind of deserted, and it was getting darker."

The suspect was described by the victim as a white male, 35 to 45 years old, 6 feet to 6 feet 4 inches tall and has a short brown hair and a goatee.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call police at 240-773-5070.