Elderly New Jersey Sisters Fight Off Alleged Armed Attacker

May 1, 2012 — -- If Betty White was a Golden Girl, a pair of elderly sisters in Hamilton, N.J. must be made of steel.

The 94- and 92-year-old sisters were finishing a trip to a CVS drugstore on Sunday morning when they got in their car to find 27-year-old Sergio Fernando Solorzano-Vasquez in the back seat brandishing a knife, police said.

He began to slash at them, but these sisters weren't giving up without a fight.

The elder sister, who was in the driver's seat, reached behind her to block the knife, while the other woman got out and began yelling and waving her arms for help.

Solorzano-Vasquez fled and hid behind a nearby dry cleaner, a witness told police. Someone outside the CVS called 911 from a cellphone.

Once police arrived and searched the area, they found Solorzano-Vasquez's discarded hat and jacket in a residential area nearby, according to the Times of Trenton. Officers asked to speak to residents in one of the homes, and Solorzano-Vasquez came to the door. A witness was able to identify him as the assailant.

Solorzano-Vasquez was charged with robbery/carjacking, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon, police said. He was held on $150,000 cash bail. He was arraigned Tuesday and transferred to the Mercer County Correctional Center.

CVS employees were not aware of the incident until police arrived, said CVS spokesman Mike DeAngelis. Employees at nearby shops on Route 33 in Hamilton, N.J., including a bakery, a deli and a gym, said they didn't hear the attack as it happened. The dry cleaner, Mr. Gus's Imperial Cleaners, was not open on Sunday.

The elder sister injured her arm but refused medical attention. Police have not released the women's names.

According to a police statement, the sisters told police "they do not know what all the fuss is about," and that "they hold no animosity toward [Solorzano-Vasquez ] but hope to never see him again."