Philadelphia Police are searching for a suspect in two rapes at gunpoint in Kingsessing

Philadelphia Police are searching for a man who they say raped two women at gunpoint in the Kingsessing area over the weekend.

The first attack occurred about 3 a.m. Saturday, on the 1600 block of South 55th Street, said Capt. Margo Alleyne-Parker, commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit. A woman told police she was in her car at the stoplight on 55th and Kingsessing Avenue when a man wearing a gray hoodie, gray sweatpants, and a blue surgical mask approached her car and pointed a black handgun at her, police said.

The man demanded money, and the woman gave him $20 before he ordered her to unlock the car doors and then got inside the car and told her to go to 48th and St. Bernard Streets, where he raped her, police said.

The man drove the woman to an ATM and ordered her to withdraw money, police said. He then took the money, got out of the car, and left.

The next day, at about 5 p.m., a woman told police she was walking near the 1100 block of South Paxton Street when a man came up behind her and pointed a silver handgun at her side and demanded money.

She gave the man $25 and some prescription medication, police said, and he then forced her into an alleyway nearby and raped her. The assailant — wearing a red Phillies hat, blue hoody, dark pants and a blue surgical mask — then fled.

Police believe the same man committed both attacks. He is in his mid-20s and has a thin build, they said.

Police are reviewing surveillance footage from the areas of both rapes and are also calling on the public to review surveillance camera footage and to alert police to anything that might help solve the crimes, said Alleyne-Parker.

As police search for the suspect, Alleyne-Parker cautioned that people should “remain vigilant” at all times.

“Always be aware of your surroundings,” she said.