Columbus police think a group of men gang-raped three women at gunpoint in separate incidents on the West Side in the past month, beating all of them and shooting one. It's likely that the rapists will strike again, police Sgt. David D. Pelphrey said at a news conference Friday.

Columbus police think a group of men gang-raped three women at gunpoint in separate incidents on the West Side in the past month, beating all of them and shooting one.

It's likely that the rapists will strike again, police Sgt. David D. Pelphrey said at a news conference Friday.

"Based on their behavior, there's no reason to believe they're going to stop until we catch them," he said.

Because of the proximity of the attacks, investigators think the men could be West Side residents or familiar with the neighborhood. Investigators are focusing on an area east of Westgate Park bounded by West Broad Street, Glenwood Avenue and Sullivant Avenue.

All three attacks occurred in alleys in the early morning. In each case, a group of three men was armed with a gun. The victims described them as white and in their late teens or 20s.

In the most recent attack, about 4:15 a.m. Thursday, a woman said she was approached by three men in the 400 block of South Burgess Avenue on the Hilltop. They forced her into an alley where one man raped her. When she tried to fight off a second attacker, she was shot.

A motorist called 911 and said the woman was walking east down Sullivant "with blood dripping everywhere." Medics originally thought she had been stabbed, but bullet fragments were found when she was treated at Mount Carmel West hospital, police said. Pelphrey said the woman was in fair condition at the hospital on Friday.

The first attack occurred April 18, also about 4:15 a.m., in the 400 block of Brehl Avenue in Franklinton. That woman also was assaulted by three men.

On April 24, a woman was approached about 4 a.m. in the 2600 block of Sullivant Avenue by three men in a black or blue newer-model vehicle. She was raped and beaten inside the vehicle.

Police need to interview the victims further, get DNA results and check street cameras for evidence, Pelphrey said.

The attackers could be trying to impress their peers or even participating in a gang initiation, he said. The women are all in their 30s, but it's too early to say whether a certain type of victim is being targeted, he said.

He said people who must walk alone at night should "be mindful of what's around you."

"Talk on your cellphone � you might at least be able to give a description of a suspicious person," Pelphrey said.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the sexual-assault squad tip line at 614-645-4266 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.

erinehart@dispatch.com

@esrinehart