Church Volunteer, 78, Attacked And Carjacked Outside Grass Valley Parish
GRASS VALLEY (CBS13) – An elderly woman is recovering after being attacked outside of a Grass Valley church Sunday morning.
Grass Valley Police say medics were called to St. Patrick's Church on Chapel Street just before 7:30 a.m. Medics soon found an elderly woman near the side of the church who had been attacked.
The woman suffered trauma to her head and had to be airlifted to Sutter Roseville Medical Center. She has since undergone surgery and is said to be in stable condition as of early Sunday afternoon.
Family has identified the woman as 78-year-old Mary Grace Tassone, a longtime volunteer at the church.
Police believe this was a random attack.
"Right now the motive for what happened is not clear at all, and exactly what happened is still a bit of a mystery," said the woman's nephew Greg Tassone.
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Crime scene investigators were still outside of the church late Sunday afternoon dusting for fingerprints.
Greg says the family is still in shock, just waiting for updates.
"She's kind of in a wait-and-see mode for probably another 48 hours or so till we can see how well she is recovering," Greg said.
Mary Grace's longtime neighbor Howard Levine said Mary Grace is very well-known in the community.
"There's a lot of suffering in our world and Mary Grace is one who addresses that," Levine said.
Bishop Jaime Soto of the Diocese of Sacramento released a statement Sunday night about the attack.
"Mary Grace is a wonderful Catholic woman whose warmth, faith and generosity is a gift to everyone who knows her. She is an indispensable member at St. Patrick's Parish in Grass Valley. She who tirelessly prayed for others, now needs our supplications. We pray to the Good Shepherd, who knows her so well, for her recovery. We hope that she and her family will know the companionship of the prayers of everyone at St. Patrick's as well as so many others in the Catholic Community throughout Sacramento region," Bishop Soto wrote.
Family isn't just hoping Mary Grace will pull through, they're convinced she will.
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"My opinion is that's the only reason she's alive right now is because of her tough determination and her spirit," Greg said.
Police say the man who attacked the woman took off with her car, a gray 2013 Honda Accord with the California license number 6ZHX462.
Anyone who sees the car is asked to call police.
