Paul
Pelosi, husband of United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was attacked on
Friday at the couple’s home in San Francisco, California. The 82-year-old Paul
Pelosi had to be hospitalised but is expected to make a full recovery. Nancy
Pelosi was in Washington at the time of the attack. It was later revealed that
the suspected attacker, David Depape, was at the Speaker’s home looking for the
House Speaker. He reportedly kept asking: “Where’s Nancy?”

San
Francisco Police Chief William Scott said Saturday that the attack at the
Speaker’s home was not a regular break-in and it was a fast police response
that saved Paul Pelosi. Scott praised dispatcher Heather Grimes for her “intuition”
and “quick-thinking” when she received a call from Paul Pelosi. The US House
Speaker’s husband said on the call that he thought he was in danger, but it was
up to the dispatcher to feel that there was something was severely wrong.

Also Read | Who is David DePape, suspect arrested for attacking Paul Pelosi?

“Based on
her experience and intuition, she basically figured that there was something
more to this incident than what she was being told. Her actions, in my opinion,
resulted in both a higher priority dispatch and a faster police response,”
William Scott told reporters.

Paul
Pelosi, meanwhile, underwent a “successful surgery to repair a skull fracture
and serious injuries to his right arm,” according to a statement released by
Nancy Pelosi’s spokesperson Drew Hamill.

Politicians
as well as judges have come under increased threat in the United States over
the last few months. The attack on Paul Pelosi drew bipartisan condemnation.
Joe Biden, the President of the United States, called upon political leaders to
“clearly and unambiguously” reject violence. Senate Minority Leader, the
Republican Mitch McConnell said he was “disgusted by the attack.”

The attack
at Nancy Pelosi’s home happened late in the night. Police arrived at the Pelosi
home at 02:27 am and knocked down one of the doors. Another door had been
opened by someone inside, police say. When they entered, cops saw Paul Pelosi
and the 42-year-old David Depape both holding a hammer. The suspect, who broke
into the home using a rear door “pulled the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and
violently assaulted him with it,” cops said.

Police tackled
the suspect, disarmed him and took him into custody, requested emergency
backup, and rendered medical aid, the police chief said.