CAPE WOMAN ASSAULTED WITH BAT

A woman was assaulted at her residence Wednesday morning by a man with a baseball bat, Cape Girardeau police said.

The incident took place about 7:10 a.m. at an apartment in the 600 block of Frederick Street, said Sgt. Carl Kinnison. The woman's husband had just left for work a few minutes earlier when a man entered through the front door, which had been left unlocked, Kinnison said.

The woman had already gone back to a bedroom when she heard someone come in. The man entered the room carrying the bat and told her if she were quiet, she wouldn't be hurt, Kinnison said. She began to kick and yell and the intruder tried to hit her with the bat. She held up her hand to defend herself, and the bat struck her hand. Then the man ran out."We have no idea what his motive was, but the yelling was enough to scare him off," Kinnison said.

The woman suffered a broken hand in the incident, police reported.

Neighbors had told police that a man fitting the victim's description of the intruder had been seen hanging around the area lately, Kinnison said.