After hurting two police officers and allegedly severing his mother’s arm at the age of 70 with a chainsaw, a 34-year-old man in Louisiana has been taken into custody.
According to documents, John Pittman was brought into custody on Monday and charged with one count of aggravated violence by cutting and one count of resisting arrest.
Officers from the New Orleans Police Department responded to a call in the 1200 block of Riviera Avenue at approximately 2:00 p.m. on July 22 involving an elderly woman whose arm had been severed in a chainsaw attack, according to a report from New Orleans ABC station WGNO.
Two officers discovered the woman “suffering from what appeared to be a severed arm” after responding to the site with emergency medical personnel, according to NOPD spokesperson Reese Harper, who briefed reporters in a press release published by New Orleans NBC affiliate WDSU.
According to Harper, the victim was taken by medical technicians to a nearby hospital, where as of Monday afternoon, her status was described as critical.
Two cops allegedly went to another house in the Gentilly neighborhood’s 3500 block of Franklin Avenue after obtaining a description of the person. Officers said that upon arriving at the second site, they made contact with the alleged attacker, who was subsequently recognized as Pittman. They tried to apprehend Pittman, but he allegedly resisted them aggressively.
In the course of capturing Pittman, two police suffered “mild to moderate injuries,” according to Harper. They were both brought to a nearby hospital to receive medical care.
Pittman was then shocked by an officer and taken into custody.
One of the policemen was hurt when they tumbled down the Franklin Avenue home’s front steps; they also sustained head and neck injuries in addition to a broken leg. According to reports, the second officer’s arm was bit. By Tuesday, both had been discharged from the hospital.
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Harper informed reporters that there was no known reason for the incident, but police were collecting evidence to find out why Pittman had allegedly attacked his mother.
“It’s a very unfortunate incident when you look at it,” he stated. “When you have anybody that is injured in that manner or seriously cut, that sounds like someone with a mental issue, for one. To do harm to your mom, you know? That’s your mom.”
Pittman is presently being jailed on a $300,000 bond; he is also allegedly suspected of assaulting a 73-year-old at a bus terminal in 2023.
