KEY POINTS
- One woman briefly lost vision and other senses after being hit in the head
- A video shows the suspect approaching a woman with a stroller and trying to hit her with a bat
- The accused faces multiple charges of aggravated battery and assault
A woman in Chicago has been arrested for allegedly targeting multiple women in a series of unprovoked attacks, often with a baseball bat.
The 26-year-old woman, identified as Denise Solorzano, was arrested Wednesday from her parent’s residence in West Foster Avenue. She allegedly attacked at least eight women between Sunday and Tuesday in different areas surrounding Albany Park and Irving Park. The ages of the victims vary from 19 to 33 years, reported NBC News.
The first attack took place Sunday at Richmond Street. Solorzano pulled up in a white Subaru sedan and attacked a 33-year-old woman before fleeing the scene, police said. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said she punched the woman in the head and face four times, CBS News reported.
Another woman who was attacked Sunday said the assailant pulled her to the ground by her ponytail and punched her at least three times. The victim briefly lost vision and other senses after being hit in the head, elbow and hip, prosecutors revealed.
An officer saw Solorzano hitting the woman in the head and fleeing the scene. While the officer attempted to pull over Solorzano, she didn’t stop and ran a stop sign, prosecutors added.
A video released by authorities shows the suspect approaching a woman with a stroller in the front yard of a home and repeatedly trying to strike her with a metal bat. The incident took place Tuesday along Mozart Street.
“The attacks are reportedly unprovoked and random. None of the victims claim to know the offender,” Chicago Police Scanner tweeted.
There’s been numerous random bat attacks by someone in a white sedan around the Ravenswood Manor/Albany Park area.
Victims include a woman walking a dog and a woman with a baby.
The attacks are reportedly unprovoked and random. None of the victims claim to know the offender.… pic.twitter.com/gMDCP2JKAa
— 16th & 17th District Chicago Police Scanner (@CPD1617Scanner) May 9, 2023
“My daughter was in her stroller so I kind of backed away to try to see if I could run behind to get the stroller and get my daughter out of there,” the mother said, reported Block Club. “[The attack] was maybe, like, 45 seconds long, and then thankfully this neighbor, this woman came out of her house videotaping and I think that’s what caused this woman to run back to her car and drive.”
Other women also said they were approached by a woman in a white car, who then attacked them with her fist or a bat.
Solorzano was charged Thursday with three counts of aggravated battery in a public place, four counts of aggravated battery using a deadly weapon and one count of aggravated assault. Prosecutors said a short metal bat was recovered from her car during the arrest.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Maryam Ahmad ruled that Solorzano “posed a serious danger” to the women and children in the community. Her bond was set at $800,000. The exact motive behind the attacks remains unknown.
Solorzano’s mother revealed her daughter was diagnosed with schizophrenia years ago and that she had struggled to get medication to treat her condition, Chicago Sun Times reported. She added that when she took her daughter to a hospital for treatment, “they just kept releasing her.”
Solorzano told police she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
