BURNABY -- A young woman is sharing her terrifying story after being attacked in Burnaby.

It happened Sunday night around 11 p.m. The 24-year-old – who CTV News Vancouver is not identifying, for her protection – had just had dinner with a friend and was on her way home from the SkyTrain station near her home. The last bus had already left, so she decided to walk.

As she was heading down Gray Avenue, she felt someone following behind. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed it: a man in a black hoodie.

She tried distance herself from him.

“When I walk faster, he walks faster,” she said, recalling the incident.

Then, he started imitating her.

“I cleared my throat and then he did that too. And then I coughed and he did that too, but mockingly.”

Within seconds, he grabbed her.

“His left hand covered my mouth and my nose at the same time and his right actually wrapped around my body. So that my top body couldn’t move. I can’t get out and I cannot scream because at the same time I couldn’t breathe because his hand is over my mouth.”

Her only thought was to drop to the ground.

“I duck down and to create a distance, I tumbled. So I did a roll and then I landed on the grass.”

Once free, she screamed for help and her attacker took off. She thought about knocking on a door but dialled 911 and within five minutes police arrived.

“It felt like forever, to be honest, because I wanted to go home at that point, I do not want to stay on the crime scene," she said. "What if he came back with a car? What if he had a weapon?”

Once she saw the face of the police officer, she cried.

The RCMP confirm they are investigating an assault, looking for a young Caucasian male with a slim build. He was wearing a black hoodie and black gloves with white lettering on them. Investigators are asking that anyone who may have been in the area of the 7000 block of Gray Avenue – between Imperial and Victory streets – around the time of the incident to contact them.

The young woman shared her story on social media and is hoping it will be a message to other women about safety.

“Just be safe, just be aware. Keep yourself alert of the surroundings,” she said. “I was just unlucky to have met somebody with an ill-intention, next time I’m calling a cab if I miss the bus.”