( CNN ) -- Chicago police continued to search Friday for a suspect in the brutal rape of 15-year-old girl who was walking to school near one of the city 's Safe Passage routes for children . Meanwhile , as the crime put national attention again on Chicago 's violence , police Superintendent Garry F. McCarthy made a surprise visit to a community meeting Thursday night , where residents expressed anger and outrage over the crime . The 15-year-old girl remains hospitalized , with a head injury suffered in the assault . `` The young lady is still on the fence , if you will , as far as how she 's doing , '' McCarthy told the gathering of parents and other residents in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood on the city 's northwest side . `` We 're going to make sure that we catch this monster . We 're going to make sure that it does n't happen again in this community or in any other community in the city of Chicago , '' McCarthy added . The 15-year-old girl was walking to her high school in predawn darkness when an assailant hit her on the head , dragged her between two houses to a yard and raped her , police said , with the assault taking place just a half-block away from one of the city 's `` Safe Passage '' school routes especially for students . Just this fall , local officials pledged that an expanded Safe Passages program -- with its big yellow signs above sidewalks patrolled during key times by paid , trained workers -- would be a sanctuary for children walking to and from school . The initiative came as Chicago became the nation 's homicide capital of America in 2012 , according to FBI statistics . This school year , city and school officials doubled the number of Safe Passage routes to accommodate more children being forced to walk greater distances because the school system closed a record 48 elementary schools amid a $ 1 billion budget shortfall . About 12,000 students are attending new schools this year because of the budget crisis , and many of them must walk through some of Chicago 's most violent neighborhoods . This week , local authorities noted that the 15-year-old victim was walking to school Tuesday morning a half-hour before her nearby Safe Passage route was staffed with patrols . A resident found the girl half-naked and bleeding from the head on a snowy walkway at the side of his home . She lay for about two hours in the cold before she was discovered . She was conscious but barely moving when she was found , authorities said . `` Just opening up the door , and take a morning sweep of the sidewalks and to find something like that is just shocking , '' said Michael Klockowski , the resident on the city 's northwest side who found the schoolgirl . The snow outside his home was still stained Thursday . CNN 's George Howell and Bill Kirkos reported from Chicago .
Chicago detectives are still searching for the assailant in a 15-year-old girl 's rape . Police superintendent makes a surprise visit to a meeting of angry parents . `` The young lady is still on the fence ... as far as how she 's doing , '' he says of the victim . Score: 6