Mansfield Today: Woman fights off attacker at apartment complex

Woman fights off attacker at apartment complex
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Brenda Sullivan on Tuesday, October 07, 2008 
 
The State Police Major Crime Squad is still looking for a man who reportedly
attacked a woman at Walden Apartments - a complex at 70 Pinney Hill Road in
Willington, where the majority of the tenants are University of Connecticut
students.
On Sunday, Sept. 28 at about 6:18 p.m., State Police Troop C received a call
from a 20-year-old female who said she had just fought off a man with a gun who
attempted to enter her car.
The victim - whose name is being withheld for her protection - was sitting in
her car outside the cluster of mailboxes that serve the complex, reading her
mail, "when a white male with a handgun attempted to gain access to her
vehicle," the police report states. "The victim was able to push the suspect
from the vehicle, and the suspect fled on foot."
State police combed the area with the help of a police dog, and called in
additional manpower.
Walden Apartments Manager Nick Totonis said today that he has been telling
tenants who come to his office "to be cautious," but that no written notice has
been posted or distributed to tenants. "I think most of them know. The police
knocked on everyone's door that night, and the next day," he said.
Totonis said he's also been in contact with the University of Connecticut
Police Department, but as of today, there was no alert posted on the UConn
Police Web site. Calls to the UConn Police on Thursday and Friday were not
returned as of 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10.
The suspect is described as a white male, approximately 5' 9" tall with a thin
build, weighing maybe 130-150 lbs, with a light complexion and brown eyes.
At the time of the assault, he was wearing a black knit mask that covered his
nose and lower face, the report states. He was dressed in a black, hooded
sweatshirt, blue jeans and a black canvas vest.
State Police Major Crime detectives have been assigned to the investigation.
Anyone with information that could help the investigation is asked to call
State Police at (860) 896-3234 or can make an anonymous tip via Text a Tip, to
CRIMES (274673) and text "TIP711" plus your message.
Posted Oct. 10, 2008