SACRAMENTO-

American River College is asking women to be aware of their surroundings after a woman was attacked near campus.

“It’s pretty scary. I like feeling safe when I come to school,” ARC student Gloria Rasmussen said.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department says the attack happened on the Nature Trail just off campus Monday. An man riding a mountain bike grabbed the woman by the arm and pulled a kitchen knife on her.

“(He) told her not to scream, she did scream, he did have a hold of her arm,” ARC spokesperson Scott Crow said. “She then broke away and ran away.”

This attack is being considered an assault and battery, but students in the area are skeptical because of this trail’s bad history.

“To me, it’s the ‘rape trail’ because so many attempted rapes have happened over there,” student Dennis Hylton said.

Exactly one month prior to this recent attack, deputies say a woman as jogging on the same trail when a man pulled her to the ground, punched her in the face and tried to pull her pants down.

These two incidents have women scared.

“I have avoided (the trail). That is the easiest thing, definitely,” Rasmussen said. “I don’t go alone. Being definitely aware of your surroundings when you are out there has kept me out of trouble.”

Crow says the school has posted flyers to make women aware of the danger. The campus has also increased its police department patrols near the nature trail and they’re asking women to play it smart.

“A lot of times, students maybe have their headphones in, they are looking down at their iPhone or their smart phone, they need to be looking up be aware of their environment,” Crow said.

The Sheriff’s Department is trying to find out if the two men in these attacks are the same person, because the descriptions are similar.