News Desk
WASHINGTON DC: US congresswoman Angie Craig escaped an attack Thursday morning by tossing hot coffee at a man/attacker who punched her in an elevator of her Washington DC apartment building, police said.
Police said the suspect has been arrested. Kendrick Hamlin, 26, was accused of punching Craig and grabbing her neck. He has been charged with simple assault.
The case is not thought to be politically motivated.
The lawmaker’s chief of staff Nick Coe said in a statement that she “defended herself from the assailant and suffered bruising, but was otherwise physically okay”.
She called 911 emergency services, and the attacker fled the scene, he added.
According to a public incident report from the Metropolitan Police Department, Craig told investigators that a person, possibly under the influence of drugs, was acting erratically in the lobby of her apartment building in the busy H Street area near Capitol Hill.
Attacker followed Craig inside the lift
When Craig boarded the lift, he followed her inside and “began to randomly do push-ups” after she bade him good morning, says the report.
She reportedly threw hot coffee at the attacker in self-defence after the person allegedly punched Craig in the chin and grabbed her neck.
The 50-year-old was attacked at around 07:10 local time (12:10 GMT) on Thursday, police say.
Police had earlier released a photo of the suspect and asked the public to help in identifying him.
Elected to Congress in 2018, Craig is an openly gay mother-of-four and serves as co-chairwoman of the Congressional Equality Caucus.
