Woman critically injured after man throws chemical in her face: Philadelphia police

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A woman is in critical condition after a man threw an unknown chemical in her face Tuesday morning in Philadelphia's Germantown section, police said.

According to police, the 61-year-old woman was leaving her house in the 5100 block of Newhall St. at about 6:30 a.m., when the incident happened.

"I just heard a lot of screaming and she was banging on her door trying to get in," said neighbor Dorothy Hannibal.

Hannibal says it has always been a quiet street and her neighbor is a kind woman who takes care of her family. Now, she's hoping that her neighbor will be ok and police will catch the attacker.

"If nothing happened in 20 years, the odds are nothing will happen again for 20 years. But with that we still have to conduct our investigation," said Inspector Michael McCarrick, with the Philadelphia Police Department.

The woman was taken to Temple University Hospital and was placed in critical condition.

Crews took samples of the chemical before washing it away from the area.