‘Please turn yourself in’: Suspect trying to steal car attacks NC woman with baseball bat, police say

KINSTON, N.C. — Police are investigating after a North Carolina woman was attacked with a baseball bat in an attempt to steal her car.

The attack happened in a parking lot around 6 p.m. on Vernon Avenue in Kinston, North Carolina.

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Officials said the suspect assaulted 72-year-old Evernell ‘Nell’ Pittman and attempted to steal her car, according to our news partner WCTI.

Pittman’s son Tony Washington said she was trying to get in her car when she was hit several times in the head with an aluminum baseball bat. He said it appears she was hit once in the back of the head and once to the face.

Washington said Pittman was active in the community and was the director of an area daycare center for 15 years.

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He said his family is praying for a miracle.

“We’re keeping the faith and trusting God,” Washington told WCTI. “This is nothing new to him, nothing’s too big for him and he’s going to take care of both sides of this.”

Police said Pittman was able to fight back and get to a nearby store to call for help. She was taken to a local hospital, where she is now in critical condition.

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The police department said it is using several different ways to identify the suspect such as K-9s, DNA analysis and surveillance video. Police were also seen doing information stops in the area to see if residents knew anything about the attack.

Washington and the rest of Pittman’s family said they are urging whoever did this to turn him or herself in.

“Please turn yourself in so that you, my family and I can move on past this," Washington said.

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