Wednesday, April 7 -- A woman was sexually assaulted in the Palms area of West Los Angeles late Monday, fueling fears that the Westside Rapist has claimed his seventh victim and may not be the man shot dead Friday by Inglewood police after a woman there was raped at knife point.

The description of the attacker given by the latest victim -- a 25-year-old woman assaulted at about 10:15 p.m. in her second-story apartment in the 3500 block of Jasmine Avenue -- matched that given by other women believed to be victims of the Westside Rapist.

The most recent attack happened in the same block where the woman believed to be the Westside Rapist's sixth victim was assaulted 10 days earlier, according to Officer Charlotte Broughton of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Six previous sexual assaults or rapes of women -- two each in Santa Monica, Palms and Venice -- may have been committed by the same man. The suspect is described as African-American, 17 to 25 years of age, about 5-feet-10 inches tall, clean shaven with short dark hair and wearing dark-colored clothing.

As in other assaults, Monday night's victim was assaulted after her attacker sneaked into her apartment through an unlocked sliding-glass door, police said.

Previous assaults attributed to the Westside Rapist occurred on Dec. 21, 1998 and March 18 of this year in Santa Monica, on Feb. 11 and 23 in Venice and on Feb. 19 and March 26 in Palms, authorities said.

Law enforcement authorities in various Westside locations have warned women to keep all doors and windows locked.

The latest assault casts doubt that a man shot dead by Inglewood police early Friday outside a gas station was the Westside rapist expanding his territory. The man was killed after he allegedly raped a woman near her apartment and threatened police.

The man has been identified as Darryl Lazell Tolbert, 33, of Henderson, Nev.

Authorities are testing evidence, including DNA samples from Tolbert and the victims, to determine if he committed any of the Westside rapes, said Lt. Eve R. Irvine of the Inglewood Police Department.

"It's the smart thing to do," she said.

Tolbert was most recently released from prison in December, and he has an extensive criminal background, including arrests for rape, sexual assaults and drug violations, Inglewood police said.

A $25,000 reward has been established for the arrest and conviction of the man responsible for the Westside rapes.