Masked man uses hatchet to attack man on lawnmower

PENN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Police say a man attacked his neighbor with a hatchet while wearing a Halloween mask.

Their houses sit right next to each other on Morgan Road.

Penn Township police say the two men have been fighting for years, but on Wednesday, it was taken to a whole new level.

Ronald Postreich is accused of taking a rusty hatchet, putting on a Halloween mask to disguise himself and then attacking his next door neighbor while he was mowing the lawn.

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"He came up from behind him, hit him in the head and back he fell off the mower," Cpl. Jack Ripper of Penn Township police said.

Police don't know why Postreich allegedly crossed the property line and went after his neighbor.

Both men are 70 years old.

After the multiple hits from the hatchet, police say the victim fought back.

"Neighbor grabbed him by the mask, it came off and he identified him," Ripper said.

Police served a warrant at Postreich's home on Thursday.

Investigators told Channel 11 they were looking for a stun gun because the victim told police Postreich tried to shock him with one.

Channel 11 has learned the neighbors have been in civil court before and are known to police, but this is the first criminal investigation.

"They've had problems for years, don't know what sparked this," Ripper said.

Channel 11 contacted the victim, but his attorney told him not to talk.

He did say he thought he was going to die during the attack.

The district attorney is reviewing this incident to see if they should amend the assault charges to attempted homicide.

Cox Media Group