CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A woman was attacked and robbed in her east Charlotte apartment early Monday.

Police said a man came to 27-year-old Matilda Cruz's sliding glass door on English Hill Drive just before daybreak, when she was home alone.

"He had a shotgun with him," said Officer Rick Grubb of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

The robber forced his way in and hit Cruz in the head with his shotgun.

"He hit her what appears to be three times and gave her a pretty bad cut over her eye," Grubb said.

The thief took $500 cash, and then hit Cruz hard enough with the butt of the gun to knock out some teeth, cut her head and leave her unconscious.

Police believe the attacker may have followed the lunch truck that Cruz and her uncle drive looking for cash. Grubb said once he saw where they lived he headed for a path behind the apartment where no one would see him and followed the trail up to the sliding glass door.

Neighbor Julio Castillo said he's lived at the complex for six years and lately the sirens and the violence have become a sad fact of life there.

"You know, too many things happen today," he said.

Cruz was unable to give police a detailed description of the man, but if you saw anything suspicious in the area around 5 a.m. call Crime Stoppers at (704) 334-1600.