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The husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Paul, was assaulted with a hammer early Friday inside his San Francisco home by an attacker identified by police as David Depape, who a law enforcement source tells Fox News was shouting “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said Depape, 42, is now facing charges of attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and several other additional felonies stemming from the incident after 2 a.m.
Scott said police responded to a wellbeing check and found Depape and Paul Pelosi, 82, struggling over a hammer. He said officers then witnessed Depape pull the hammer away from Pelosi and “violently assaulted” him.
Officers then immediately tackled Depape, disarmed him and took him into custody, while requesting emergency backup and rendering medical aid at the scene. The motive for the attack remains under investigation.
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“Early this morning, an assailant broke into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco and violently assaulted Mr. Pelosi,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said. “Mr. Pelosi was taken to the hospital, where he is receiving excellent medical care and is expected to make a full recovery.”
The spokesman also said, “The Speaker and her family are grateful to the first responders and medical professionals involved, and request privacy at this time.”
The White House said President Biden “is praying for Paul Pelosi and for Speaker Pelosi’s whole family” following the “horrible attack.”
A source that spoke to Fox News said the intruder confronted the Speaker’s husband shouting “where is Nancy, where is Nancy?” .
Two sources with knowledge of the investigation into the attack also told The Associated Press that Paul Pelosi was specifically targeted, severely beaten with a hammer and suffered blunt force injuries to his head and body. The sources said Pelosi is being treated for injuries including bruising and severe swelling.
The U.S. Capitol Police said in its own statement that it is “assisting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the San Francisco Police with a joint investigation into a break-in at the California home of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
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The statement also said Nancy Pelosi “was in Washington, D.C. with her protective detail at the time of the overnight, break-in.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said “what happened to Paul Pelosi was a dastardly act.
“I spoke with Speaker Pelosi earlier this morning and conveyed my deepest concern and heartfelt wishes to her husband and their family, and I wish him a speedy recovery,” he said in a statement.
Friday’s reported attack is not the first time the Pelosi’s Pacific Heights property has been targeted recently.
In 2021, photos surfaced on social media and TMZ showing graffiti on a San Francisco garage door purportedly at the home of the Democratic congressional leader. The apparently spray-painted message read “$2K” with a line through it.
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“Cancel Rent?” “We want everything!” Another line appeared to read, “UBI!” referring to the concept of universal basic income.
A spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department told Fox News at the time that officers responded to the reported vandalism around 2 a.m. “Unidentified suspect(s) had painted graffiti on the garage door and left a pig’s head on the sidewalk,” they said.
Fox News’ David Spunt, Mark Meredith and Kelly Phares contributed to this report.