SAN FRANCISCO: A hammer-wielding man attacked US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband during a break-in at the couple’s San Francisco home early on Friday, authorities said, in an assault that raised fears about political violence ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections.
Her husband, Paul Pelosi, 82, was taken to hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, Pelosi’s office said.
The man arrested at the scene, David Depape, 42, will be charged with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon and several other criminal charges, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said.
The Democratic speaker of the US House of Representatives, who is second in the succession line of the US presidency, was in Washington with her protective detail at the time of the assault, according to the Capitol Police.
Authorities said they were still investigating a motive for the attack in the early hours of the morning.
CNN, citing a source, reported that the assailant shouted “Where is Nancy?” before the attack and told police he was “waiting for Nancy” when they arrived at the scene.
It was unclear how the intruder got into the three-story red brick townhouse in the affluent Pacific Heights neighborhood. Aerial photos showed shattered glass on a door at the rear of the house. Streets around the residence were closed off on Friday morning.
The assault occurred less than two weeks before midterm elections in which control of the House and US Senate is at stake.
Scott said police were dispatched to the house at 2:27 a.m. Pacific time (0927 GMT), where they encountered Depape and Paul Pelosi both holding a hammer, before Depape pulled the hammer away and attacked Pelosi.
Police disarmed and arrested Depape and took both men to a hospital for treatment, Scott said.
He declined to answer questions and said police would provide more details later.
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