A 37-year-old Hebron woman died shortly after she was stabbed Monday afternoon on a Cincinnati sidewalk, in what police said was a rare violent crime downtown.

        Passers-by heard a woman screaming and found her lying on the sidewalk in the 100 block of W. Fourth Street about 4:40 p.m., Cincinnati Police Lt. Kurt Byrd said.

        “Several witnesses heard the screaming and saw a suspect running away,” Lt. Byrd said.

        The woman, identified by police as Cheryl Dawson, suffered stab wounds to the chest. She was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at University Hospital, a nursing supervisor said.

        The attack occurred in a secluded area near the Closson's store at 401 Race St. The sidewalk at that location is shielded from the street by a parking garage ramp.

        Monday's fatal stabbing is the 15th homicide of the year in Cincinnati. There were 61 homicides in Cincinnati last year.

        The attacker was described as a black man in his 40s, about 6-feet tall, with a 1-inch Afro, wearing a brown-and-gray, parka-type jacket, Lt. Byrd said. Homicide investigators had not established a possible motive.

        This month, Cincinnati po lice inaugurated a “community policing” effort in downtown and Over-the-Rhine, consisting of foot patrols by two-officer teams.

        Councilman Jim Tarbell, who lives in Pendleton, said Monday night it would be premature to speculate on what effect the slaying might have on the perception of downtown safety.

        “I'd want to know if it was a domestic dispute first,” Mr. Tarbell said. “I don't think it's a comment on the safety of downtown (or) Fourth Street if it's a domestic dispute. “It's a tragedy regardless of the location.”

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