An arrest has been made in the March 1 attack that left pawnshop owner David Woolfson, 76, with serious head injuries. (ID Productions) A 56-year-old man from St. Albert is facing charges in a vicious attack on an Edmonton pawnshop owner.

David Woolfson, 76, was found behind the counter by three customers around 4 p.m., March 1 at his pawnshop on 95th Street and 111th Avenue. He had been badly beaten with a hatchet. An undisclosed amount of cash and jewelry had been taken.

Security cameras in the store were not operating at the time, so police appealed to the public for help.

"Just as this case touched a lot of citizens, it also had an impact on those who were involved in the investigation," said Det. Rob Paton of the Edmonton Police Service in a release.

Woolfson's injuries limited what he has been able to tell police, said Lisa Lammi, who speaks for the EPS. But what he had to say "would have played a role" in the investigation leading to the arrest, she said.

Police have charged Kenneth Angus Campbell with robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public.

'Improving every day'

"I'm improving, I improve every day," Woolfson told CBC News Thursday. The attack was with the blunt end of a hatchet and left him with wounds requiring 80 stitches, he said.

"I just lost my concentration for one second, and it was one second too much when he attacked me."

The attack was completely unexpected, Woolfson said, because of the friendly atmosphere that's always existed in his shop. But it has changed his life.

"There's no way I can go back into the shop and run it as a shop. I'm going to open it to close it that's all, or to sell it."