Gainesville police are investigating the reported rape of a woman in the Duckpond neighborhood.
Police responded to a caller who reported to have been threatened with a firearm and raped shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday morning, according to a Gainesville police crime alert.
The victim told police that she was walking home from downtown near East University Avenue and First Street when a man approached her and asked to use her lighter. She allowed the man to use her lighter and then continued walking north of Northeast First Street.
She was followed by the man for a few blocks and ignored him when he asked about her name, the crime alert says.
But near the 600 block of Northeast Second Street, the man grabbed her from behind and pointed a firearm to her head. He then forced her next to a business on Second Street and raped her, according to the crime alert.
The suspect then fled on foot.
Police set up a perimeter around the area and looked for the suspect, but they weren't able to find him, the crime alert says. A description of the suspect was not immediately available.
The victim was taken to a hospital and put in contact with a rape victim advocate.