A man is facing charges including attempted murder after attacking his mother with a hammer at his apartment in Redwood City on Sunday, police said.
Benjamin Chouanard, 25, was experiencing a mental health breakdown when he attacked his 54-year-old mother, striking her on top of her head, at the apartment in the 100 block of Broadway about 5 p.m., according to the Redwood City Police Department.
“When officers arrived, Chouanard was in front of the residence, still within the immediate grasp of the hammer he used to assault his mother,” police said. “Officers had the needed time to deescalate a tense situation and convinced Chouanard to surrender peacefully without further violence.”
Chouanard’s mother was transported to Stanford Hospital with a fractured skull.
According to prosecutors, Chouanard’s mother, who paid for her son’s apartment, had been visiting him to check on him. Chouanard was in his bedroom with the door closed when he “suddenly came rushing out with a hammer,” prosecutors said.
Chouanard remains in custody on $2 million bail and is set to enter his plea on May 4.
Photo credited to the Redwood City Police Department
