What to Know
- A hammer-wielding man went on a rampage in Brooklyn, attacking a neighbor in her apartment and then dragging her outside naked
- He left her outside and then started to attack vehicles with the hammer before running into his own second-floor apartment
- Cops took him into custody, having to shock him with a stun gun when he opened the door holding a knife and the hammer, they say
A 32-year-old hammer-wielding man went on a middle-of-the-day rampage in Brooklyn, breaking into a 68-year-old neighbor's apartment with the weapon and bashing her repeatedly in the head, then dragging her naked out into the street and smashing a number of parked cars, authorities tell News 4.
Cops say the man, whom neighbors describe as mentally ill, used the hammer to get into the woman's third-floor apartment in Brownsville on Wednesday. He hit her repeatedly in the head with the hammer and dragged her down the stairs and outside, where he vandalized several cars, officials say.
The woman had been naked when he broke in, and that's the way he took her outside; a woman who witnessed the chaos said another neighbor came out and covered the victim with a sheet. Her injuries were described as "devastating," but cops say her condition is improving and she is expected to survive.
After dragging the woman out and vandalizing the cars, the man ran back into his own apartment, a floor below the victim. Police showed up. He was still holding the hammer and also had a knife when he opened the door, they say. Cops shocked the man with a stun gun and took him into custody.
“The guy came out holding a knife. He was holding the hammer. But the officers were able to deploy their Taser and restrain him,” Brooklyn North Assistant Chief Jeffrey Maddrey told News 4.
The suspect has no criminal history and neighbors say he struggled with mental issues. Maddrey stressed the NYPD provides each officer with hours of training on how to handle emotionally disturbed people and also equips them with stun guns.
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“What he did to that woman was terrible but the fact that they got him out and were able, he’ll be able to be prosecuted and dealt with it’s between God and the judge now,” said the witness, who didn't want to be named.
That witness says she says she could understand if cops had had to use deadly force in this particular case, but is thankful it wasn't necessary.
“I for one am so happy that they Tased him instead of shooting him because there were kids out here," she said. "Everyone was out. The whole block was here.”
