DETROIT (WXYZ) — A 72-year-old woman was the victim of a vicious attack on Detroit's west side on Thursday.
Police say a 20-year-old man volunteered to shovel the elderly woman's snow but assaulted her and stole her Black Chrysler 200.
The elderly woman reportedly did not have money to pay the man and refused the service.
"I understand he hit her with a shovel. [He] hit her upside her head with a shovel," said the victim's friend and neighbor Gloria Davis. "They had to do surgery to relieve pressure from the brain."
The crime occurred around 3:00 p.m. on the 19000 block of Lauder St, near Eight Mile.
The suspect's identity has been withheld because he has not been charged. Detectives with the crime scene unit returned to the scene Friday afternoon.
"It's heartbreaking," another neighbor said as police canvassed the block.
Police say hours after the crime, the man was taken into custody after a brief chase in the stolen car near Seven Mile and Rutherford which resulted in a crash.
Police said there were no injuries.
The man was previously arrested and plead guilty to carrying a concealed weapon in December. He posted a $250 bail for the weapons charge. He's scheduled to be sentenced in two weeks on the gun charge, according to a Detroit police spokesperson.
Davis said the man has worked on the victim's yard for years.
"[He] does her lawn and landscaping," Davis said. "So, she obviously had a little trust in him."
Davis said the woman remains in the hospital in stable condition.
If you have any information you're urged to call Detroit police of Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
