A 42-year-old man is being charged with attempted murder after allegedly assaulting Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer at the couple’s residence in San Francisco.
The attack reportedly occurred around 2:30 a.m. and was witnessed by police officers responding to an emergency call from the house.
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said at a press briefing:
“When the officers arrived on the scene, they encountered an adult male and … Pelosi’s husband, Paul. Our officers observed Mr. Pelosi and the suspect both holding a hammer. The suspect pulled the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and violently assaulted him with it. Our officers immediately tackled the suspect, disarmed him, took him into custody, requested emergency backup, and rendered medical aid.”
Multiple media outlets reported that the suspect had shouted, “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” before the assault.
Authorities identified the suspect as David DePape.
California resident Linda Schneider told CNN that she first met DePape in the Berkeley area and that he was allegedly living in a storage unit and struggling with drug addiction.
Years later, Schneider claimed she started receiving “disturbing” emails from DePape that made him appear like a “megalomaniac and … out of touch with reality” and that she remembered him “using Biblical justification to do harm.”
Another acquaintance of DePape’s, Laura Hayes, told CNN that DePape claimed that “he talks to angels and there will be a hard time coming.”
In addition to being charged with attempted murder, DePape is also facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, elder abuse, and several other additional felonies, per the San Francisco Police Department.
Paul Pelosi reportedly underwent skull surgery Friday morning and is expected to recover.
