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'It's honestly terrifying' | San Marcos police looking for suspect following sexual assault, Peeping Tom incidents

San Marcos police are urging neighbors to lock their doors and windows.

SAN MARCOS, Texas — In a matter of two days, San Marcos police say they have received at least four reports of a suspicious man at Copper Beech, an apartment complex in the city.

Stan Standridge, the chief of police at the San Marcos Police Department, said it could possibly be the same man. 

"We believe this is very serious, and our residents should take this very serious if they have any information," Standridge said. 

On Halloween, a woman reported to police that she got a video from a neighbor that appeared to show a stranger looking into her bedroom window. Police said the man appeared to watch the partially undressed woman for several seconds before running away. 

KVUE tracked down the neighbor who owned the footage. She did not want to show her face or share her name, to protect her safety. 

"It's honestly terrifying to feel like you can't be in your home at all alone, especially when you're young, when you're in college and you don't know," the neighbor said. "I haven't been sleeping in my house for the last two weeks. I barely come home."

Early the next morning, on Nov. 1, a resident in a different building of the apartment complex reported seeing a man outside of a ground floor apartment window. The man appeared to be watching the woman, who was sitting at a desk with the blinds open. Police said the man ran away when officers arrived. 

Later that day, San Marcos police received reports of sexual assault at the same complex. 

"We have had a couple of reports where the suspect was actually inside the apartment and inappropriately touched two females. And so, then you see that the behavior has become more aggressive, more concerning," Standridge said. 

Now San Marcos police are asking anyone with doorbell or surveillance camera footage to come forward. 

"Every one of us have to take this as the very grave threat that it is," Standridge said. 

It is a plea that the neighbor is asking people to take seriously. 

"I don't think there's enough words to describe how vulnerable I feel," the neighbor said. 

Standridge wants to emphasize that residents should lock their doors, close their blinds, travel in pairs to their cars and not park in poorly lit spaces. 

If you have any footage that can help, you are asked to call the Criminal Investigations Division at 512-753-2300. 

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