Suspect Who Attacked 74-Year-Old Woman Still At Large

BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- A 74-year-old Baltimore County woman fought off her attacker and lived to tell about it. Andrea Fujii spoke with her and has more on the investigation.

A month away from her 75th birthday, Gwyn Sirota is badly bruised but says she warned her female attacker she was going to put up a fight.

Gwyn Sirota knows she's lucky to come away with only bruises and stitches after fighting off a home intruder Monday morning.

"It was stupid but adrenaline kicks in and you don't think," she said.

She was walking her dog outside her Cockeysville townhome when the suspect walked past her.

"I said, `Good morning,' then she said, `Good morning.' Then all of a sudden I got this sixth sense---`I'd better get back up to the house,'" Sirota said.

She had left her door unlocked. Inside, she found the suspect, who demanded money---but Sirota refused.

"I said, `Don't you fight with a 75-year-old woman. I'm gonna give you all I got.' And I bit her, pinched her, grabbed everything I wasn't supposed to grab," Sirota said.

They tusseled from upstairs to downstairs. She said the suspect pulled out a knife but never used it.

The whole time, her dog was outside whining. That got the attention of a neighbor, who rang the doorbell three times.

"She said the girl just ran out the back and so I ran to the back to see if I could see her, but she was not in my line of sight," said neighbor Vivek Khosla.

The suspect got away with a cell phone and credit cards. One day later, Sirota is in pain but not angry.

"You know what, she's probably a desperate lady and there's some reason she had to do that," Sirota said.

Sirota says she thinks the suspect knew her routine of leaving the door unlocked during her morning walk. She says from now on, she will lock up.

Police say the suspect is described as a woman in her twenties with a heavy build and is probably bruised. If you have any information, please call police.