Woman sexually assaulted by armed man while she was sleeping in apartment

Prince George's County police spent Wednesday evening canvassing a Suitland neighborhood for a sexual predator. On Monday afternoon, police say a man sexually assaulted a woman while she slept inside of an apartment on Swann Road.

Detectives went door to door in the neighborhood informing residents about the attack and looking for any potential witnesses.

"This is a particularly heinous incident," said Prince George's County Police Officer Mike Owen. "Not that all of them aren't, but anytime we have something in the middle of the day, when someone forces entry into an apartment in a very heavily populated area, we definitely want to get this guy off of the street."

The victim was napping on her couch when the masked suspect broke in.

"The suspect, who has been described as a black male, tall, wearing all dark clothing and a black hat, forced entry somehow into her apartment, confronted her," said Officer Owen. "He had a handgun. He woke her up and he sexually assaulted her."

Abby Dasta has been living in the Regency Court Apartments in the 3200 block of Swann Road for the past three years. But after learning a neighbor was attacked and sexually assaulted by a stranger in her own home, she said she won't be renewing her lease.

"I live by the door, but somebody was so daring and crossed all the way, raped a girl and left the area," said Dasta. "They are so confident, afraid of nobody. Now I'm really shaky."

"I'm just in shock," said another apartment resident. "I don't understand how that could happen in broad daylight and nobody saw anything. It's crazy."

There are cameras located around the apartment complex, but most of the people who live here believe at least most of the cameras are broken just like the entry gate.

One resident told us his car was hit in the parking lot a few months ago and he was not able to obtain any security video.

We have not been able to get in touch with anyone from the leasing office, but detectives say they are looking into whether any video was recorded.

There is a $25,000 reward in this case and Prince George's County police would like to hear from you if you have any information.