A woman was sent to Griffin Hospital Wednesday after being attacked by a man with a baseball bat in her Cook Street home.
The attack happened at about 11:15 a.m. The incident kicked off a manhunt that lasted for more than a hour along Clifton Avenue and Division Street.
Police were still conducting interviews, but Lt. Andrew Cota said the woman may have interrupted a burglary.
“She opened up the door, went in the house and apparently there was someone already in the house,” Cota said. “She’s telling us he threw a blanket over her head, hit her with a bat and ran out of the house.”
The victim sustained cuts and bruises to her arms and hands.
“Nothing too serious, nothing life threatening,” Cota said.
Police do not know if anything was stolen from the house.
Authorities searched the area for a suspect described as a black male with gray hair, wearing a blue shirt.
A canine unit from Shelton arrived on the scenes within minutes. Officers followed the dog from the property on Cook Street, through a few yards and then along Clifton Avenue, heading toward the new Boys & Girls Club.
Police had several reports of a man matching the description in the area of the Stop & Shop on Division Street — including at least one report coming from an employee inside the store.
However, those reports were false.
A man named Ray identified himself as the woman’s brother. He arrived on the scene shortly after the crime, his black Chevy pick-up screeching to a halt on Clifton Avenue.
He was angry, understandably, and declined comment to a reporter.
Police were planning to interview the victim again once she arrived home from the hospital.
“It’s hard to talk to someone when they’re upset like that. We’ll give her some time and once she comes home we’ll speak with her and see if we can more details,” Cota said.
The woman is thought to be in her 30s, police said.
Cook Street is off Clifton Avenue, near an Enterprise car rental.
