The incident took place in Hartford County around 10 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 6 in Windsor Locks.
According to Lt. Paul Cherniack, of the Windsor Locks Police, the woman, who is in her 70s, was walking in the area of 34 Old Country Road when a man ran up behind her and "viciously struck her about the back of the head with a closed fist causing her to fall to the ground."
As she fell to the ground she suffered broken fingers, he added.
"The elderly victim lay helpless with a serious laceration to the back of her head from the punch," Cherniack said.
When Windsor Locks officers responded to the area, along with a K9 unit, they began to canvass the area for the attacker was located nearby by state police, police said.
Cherniack said the attacker has been identified as Alexander Lesure Russell, age 40, homeless.
He was charged with assault on an elderly person and reckless endangerment. He is being held on a $150,000 bond.
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