Woman stabbed in Chicago laundromat by man she said wore clown mask, police investigating

Police are investigating after they say a person brutally stabbed a woman multiple times in a Chicago laundromat on the city's Northwest Side.

Chicago Police Department spokesperson Kellie Bartoli told USA TODAY the stabbing took place just after 7:30 p.m. Friday at the business on West Montrose Street in the Portage Park neighborhood.

The 37-year-old victim, Bartoli said, was at the location when she was approached by an unknown suspect who pulled out "a sharp object" and stabbed the victim multiple times "in the body."

The victim, police reported, was transported to a hospital in in serious condition.

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Victim says stabbing suspect wore clown mask

The victim, local WLS-TV reported, remained hospitalized this week and said a man stabbed her eight times in her leg and her arm. She also told the outlet he wore "a clown mask and gray hoodie."

"He came up to me so quickly that I didn't have a chance to run," Erika Gierczak told the outlet. "It was a big knife. I stood up with all the blood leaking from me on the floor, and I had still the right hand to call the police. The owners live upstairs, so they weren't able to help me."

Bartoli told USA TODAY there is no mention of a clown mask in the police incident report. 

A motive in the attack was not immediately known.

According to police, as of Thursday, the case remained open and no arrest had been made in the stabbing.

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Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.