Seattle light rail hammer attack: Suspect charged with 3 counts of assault

Charges filed against suspect of Seattle lightrail hammer attack

The suspect told detectives that the man seen on video attacking people with a hammer is not him. He said it's "a shapeshifter trying to frame him."

SEATTLE - The suspect in a hammer attack at the Beacon Hill light rail station in September has been arrested, and booked into the King County jail.

According to authorities, the man attacked two people ‘unprovoked’ with a hammer at the Beacon Hill light rail station neighborhood around 4 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28.

According to the Seattle Fire Department, the victims were a 63-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man. Both suffered cuts to the head.

Prosecutors on Oct. 18 charged Richard Gordon with three counts of Assault today for attacking 2 people with a hammer at the Beacon Hill light rail station. He told detectives that the man seen on video is not him. He said it's "a shapeshifter trying to frame him."

Image released by Seattle Police in late September of the suspect following a violent hammer attack at a Seattle light rail station.

Seattle Police say the attack was ‘unprovoked,’ and the suspect ran after attacking the two.

"The woman told me he yelled, ‘I hate you,’ before attacking," said Karla Rodriguez.

Rodriguez lives and works in the area. She told FOX 13 she helped the 63-year-old woman who was attacked.

"She was upset and speaking in slurs because she just got hit in the head with a hammer," said Rodriguez. "She was really, really hit hard in the head. She could barely walk afterward, she told me and was having trouble just talking."

Rodriguez said English was not the woman's first language, and she helped file a police report with police.

According to first responders, both victims were taken to the hospital for treatment and are in stable condition.

Police initially released video of the man, hoping that it would drum up leads. In fact, they are still asking anyone that may have witnessed the incident to reach out to SPD's Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000.