The attack happened around 2:10 a.m. in the 2600 block of Kensington Avenue in Philadelphia's Kensington section.
Investigators say the 33-year-old victim was approached by a man who walked with her for a short distance.
Then, police say the man grabbed her by the hair and pulled her into an alleyway at 1800 E. Sergeant Street. The man choked her, punched her and hit her in the head with a brick.
During the struggle, police say the man also tried to stab the woman with pair of scissors, but the victim was able to take the scissors from him.
Her attacker then ran away.
The man is described as a black male aged 20 to 24 standing between 5'7" and 5'11" tall and weighing 160 to 170 pounds. Police say he had facial hair that was unshaven on the sides. He wore a dark colored puffy coat, a dark sweatshirt under the coat and faded black jeans.
He was listening to a white iPod and told the victim his name was "Anthony."
Police have released a similar suspect sketch and description for a man wanted for assaulting two women in October in Kensington.
This comes as police probe a number of unsolved homicides in the same area. In mid-November, thirty-five-year-old Nicole Piacentini was found strangled in the doorway of an abandoned building on the 1900 block of East Cumberland. About two weeks earlier, less than a mile away, 21-year-old Elaine Goldberg was also found strangled in an abandoned lot on Ruth Street.
During the weekend, another young woman was murdered in Philadelphia's Juniata Park section, not far from where Piacentini and Goldberg were found. However, on Monday, police said they had no reason to believe the murder of 23-year-old Allison Edwards was related to the other crimes.
She was found partially clothed and strangled in an apartment on the 3800 block of Glendale Street early Saturday morning.
