The hammer-wielding suspect was reportedly shouting “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?” when he broke into the House Speaker’s Pac Heights home early Friday morning, and spouse Paul Pelosi is hospitalized with blunt force trauma wounds.
Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker and SF resident Nancy Pelosi, was already having a bad year. But things got far worse at approximately 2:27 a.m. Friday morning, and NBC Bay Area reports that an intruder broke into the Pelosis’ home in Pacific Heights and attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer. Nancy Pelosi was not home at the time, but as seen below, ABC News is reporting that that attack was targeted toward Speaker Pelosi, with the Bay Area News Group adding that the suspect was shouting “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”
Sources tell @ABC the person who attacked Paul Pelosi was specifically looking for @SpeakerPelosi. The suspect was armed with a hammer and allegedly entered the house through a sliding glass door.https://t.co/38d7vwEOnY
— Liz Kreutz (@ABCLiz) October 28, 2022
First off, NBC Bay Area adds that Paul Pelosi is in “stable” condition at Zuckerberg General Hospital. (Update: A separate NBC Bay Area report notes that Pelosi was "was undergoing brain surgery" as a result of the attack.) The Bay Area News Group adds that he “suffered blunt force trauma to his head and body after being attacked with a hammer. He was being treated by doctors for bruising, severe swelling and other injuries.”
*BREAKING* NBC News source: Paul Pelosi attacker was looking for the Speaker of the House. “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” The Speaker was not at her SF home during early morning attack. pic.twitter.com/BgC1G5WAc2
— Bob Redell (@BobNBC) October 28, 2022
Pelosi’s office has put out a statement. “Early this morning, an assailant broke into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco and violently assaulted Mr. Pelosi. The assailant is in custody and the motivation for the attack is under investigation," according to the statement from Pelosi's office. "Mr. Pelosi was taken to the hospital, where he is receiving excellent medical care and is expected to make a full recovery. The Speaker was not in San Francisco at the time."
SFPD held a press conference Friday morning, which is seen above. The New York Times reports the suspect David Depape "he would be charged with attempted homicide and other crimes," while the Chronicle notes "DePape was booked on suspicion of attempted homicide, assault with deadly weapon and elder abuse."
So how does an intruder manage to get in to the Pelosis’ home? Nancy wasn’t there, so there was no Secret Service security detail at the time. NBC Bay Area has an aerial photo of a broken glass back door, so clearly a break-in. The New York Times also has some video footage of the scene.
My sources also name the suspect in this morning's hammer attack on Paul Pelosi as David DePape, born 1980, of Berkeley.
— Joe Eskenazi (@EskSF) October 28, 2022
He would appear to be a former Castro nudist protester.
Things appear set to be bizarre for a while.
Mission Local’s Joe Eskenazi is reporting that the suspect is Berkeley resident David Depape. That has since been confirmed, and we have more detail on Depape here, and the more we learn, this story is probably going to get more bizarre, not less.
Note: This post has been updated with additional detail on Paul Pelosi's condition, plus background information on Davis Depape.
Image: WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi attend the 23rd Annual Mark Twain Prize For American Humor at The Kennedy Center on April 24, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
