WASHINGTON — The suspect who violently attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband early Friday was searching for her, two sources briefed on the incident told NBC News.
The sources, one of whom is a senior U.S. official, said that before the assault occurred, the intruder confronted Paul Pelosi, 82, shouting, “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said in a statement Friday morning that the suspect, who was taken into custody, is 42-year-old David DePape.
Scott said that police arrived at the Pelosi home just before 2:30 a.m. PT and 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," Scott added.
He said the investigation remains active and that “the motive for this attack is still being determined.”
At a news conference Friday evening, Scott said the attack on Paul Pelosi, was "intentional," and not random.
“Our elected officials are here to do the business of their cities, their counties, their states, and this nation. Their families don’t sign up for this, to be harmed,” Scott said. “And it is wrong. And everybody should be disgusted about what happened this morning.”
The speaker's office said Friday afternoon that Paul Pelosi was taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where he “underwent successful surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands.” His doctors expect him to make a full recovery, Pelosi's office said.
DePape was also taken to a local hospital, Scott said. Police would not disclose his medical condition.
DePape will be booked at San Francisco County Jail on the charges of attempted homicide assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and several other additional felonies, Scott said earlier in the day.
According to a family member traveling to San Francisco with the speaker, the suspect brought the hammer and broke the windows of the Pelosi home facing the backyard. The family member said once inside, the suspect was trying to tie up Paul Pelosi and said they would wait "until Nancy got home." When the suspect wasn’t looking, Paul called 911. The family member said Paul was home alone and was hit in the head with the hammer multiple times. When the police arrived, the suspect said, "We are waiting for Nancy."
The suspect appears to have operated a website on which he wrote a wide variety of posts touching on almost all manner of modern conspiracy thinking: aliens, Jewish people, communism, vaccines, voter fraud and many other topics.
Two law enforcement officials said an early look at DePape’s online footprint showed recent blog posts that espoused ideas typically associated with far-right extremism along with some liberal anti-establishment ideas.
Pelosi's office first revealed news of the attack in a statement earlier Friday.
"Early this morning, an assailant broke into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco and violently assaulted Mr. Pelosi," Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said at the time.
The House speaker was not in San Francisco at the time of the attack, according to her office. U.S. Capitol Police said in a separate statement that she was in Washington, D.C., with her protective detail at the time of the break-in.
Paul Pelosi did not have a security detail. Spouses of top lawmakers are not granted one.
