MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee Police are investigating an attempted sexual assault on the city's east side.

It happened around 8 p.m. on Monday in the 1900 block of of N. Oakland Avenue.

The victim wrote on social media that she was taking out her recycling, just steps from her apartment building when a man in a ski mask pointed a gun in her face. In the post, the victim said the man walked her to a dark space next to a garage and ordered her to to the ground and to take her shoes off. A motion-sensor light allegedly went off, spooking the attacker who then ran off.

"You don't think that it would ever happen because you're a block away from where you're doing stuff but you're by yourself and I am a woman so it's terrifying to hear," said Leah Fenske, a neighbor.

Milwaukee Police say they have taken a person of interest into custody. 

The management of the apartment buildings responded to the incident with a letter to tenants reminding them to be safe as the days get shorter.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Stay with CBS 58 News for more information on this developing story.

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