CNN
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The man who is suspected of having attacked Paul PelosiHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, with a hammer in the couple’s San Francisco home, had a bag with him containing several zip ties, among other things, according to two sources who were briefed on the incident.
In addition to the zip ties, the suspect also had duct tape on him, according to a police source.
David DePape, 42, faces charges of attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and other crimes in connection with the Friday morning attack, said San Francisco Police Chief William Scott.
The hammer that was used to assault Paul Pelosi was brought by DePape, according to a law enforcement source and a senior congressional official briefed on the assault.
Neither source was aware of any other weapons found during DePape’s arrest.
DePape went upstairs to the bedroom where Paul Pelosi was sleeping, according to Randy Quezada, director of communications for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. The two did not know each other before the attack, Quezada said.
NBC News was first to report that DePape went into the bedroom. CNN previously reported that DePape confronted Pelosi and asked where his wife was, shouting, “Where’s Nancy?”
‘Where’s Nancy?’: Attacker screamed before attacking Pelosi’s husband, source says
The new details shed more light on what happened during Friday’s attack, during which DePape also tried to tie up Paul Pelosi, two sources told CNN on Friday.
The cries of “Where is Nancy” had echoes of the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Although police have yet to determine a motive, they believe DePape intended to enter the house.
Police said DePape entered the home through a back door and it was unclear whether he bypassed security measures.
Paul Pelosi was able to call 911 at the start of the attack, a law enforcement source and another source familiar with the matter previously said. He managed to keep the line open and the dispatcher could hear a conversation in the background, talking surreptitiously but making it clear he needed help, according to the police source.
San Francisco police entered the home around 2:27 a.m. local time Friday (5:27 a.m. ET) to find Pelosi struggling with a hammer with DePape, according to the city’s police chief. Officers witnessed DePape “violently assault” Pelosi with the hammer before slamming him to the ground and arresting him.
‘Disgusting’: Rick Scott reacts to Pelosi’s attack
“Officers, while still outside the doorway, ordered the two men to drop the gavel. Mr. DePape immediately pulled the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and violently attacked him with the hammer,” Scott said at a press conference on Friday. “Officers immediately entered, attacked the suspect, disarmed him, removed the gavel and took the suspect, Mr. DePape, into custody.”
DePape is expected to be charged with multiple crimes on Monday and arraigned on Tuesday, according to San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.
Pelosi was taken to hospital after the attack and underwent “successful surgery to repair a fractured skull and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” said Nancy Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill. in a statement Friday evening. Paul Pelosi is expected to make a full recovery.
Nancy Pelosi said in a letter on Saturday to all members of the United States House of Representatives that her husband continues to improve after the attack, but their children and grandchildren are “heartbroken and traumatized”.
This story has been updated with additional information.