SAVANNAH — A widely circulated e-mail from a Hunter Army Airfield soldier’s wife who claimed to be the victim of a violent attack apparently was a hoax she started in an attempt to get her husband home from Iraq for the holidays, authorities say.

The e-mail, which sparked concern among dozens of local residents, was written by a woman, described only as “Elsie,” who said she was assaulted in the parking lot of a Georgetown Piggly Wiggly, said Savannah-Chatham police spokesman Bucky Burnsed.

“The woman’s husband is in Iraq,” he said. “She was hoping the military would send him home.”

The woman claimed she walked out of the store to find a 19-year-old man in her car. When she asked what he was doing, the suspect allegedly grabbed her and started “beating the crud” out of her, according to the e-mail. She then whacked the man on the head with a can of food, and the suspect ran away after several others came to her rescue.

The suspect later was arrested, and the victim identified him in a police lineup, the e-mail said.

The e-mail was sent around Hunter Army Airfield, the surrounding community and even made its way to a local mothers’ group, which forwarded it to its 70 members to warn them of the dangers of shopping alone at night