A woman was stabbed during a robbery attempt at an apartment complex this morning, bringing the total number of similar holdups to 12, Fort Wayne police said.

A man, not displaying a weapon, approached the woman in a building at Gardenview Apartments, near North Clinton Street and St. Joe Center Road, and demanded money, said Officer Raquel Foster, a police spokeswoman.

Foster said the victim, a Spanish speaker, did not completely understand the man.

“That frustrated him, and he struck her about the head and face several times,” Foster said.

Aware of the rash of robberies, the woman had a large kitchen knife on hand for protection. But the man forced his way into her apartment, picked up the knife and stabbed her in the abdomen, Foster said.

The woman hit the panic alarm on her vehicle, and the man fled on foot without taking anything, Foster said.

Police and medics were sent to the apartment complex about 10:10 a.m. The woman was taken to a hospital, where she was listed in serious condition.

In the string of 12 related robberies, this was the third reported at Gardenview Apartments. The other two occurred the night of Jan. 7.

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s print edition of The Journal Gazette or visit www.journalgazette.net after 3 a.m. Wednesday.

aingersoll@jg.net