A chainsaw-wielding Louisiana man wasn't finished inflicting horror when he allegedly severed his elderly mother's arm.
John Pittman, 34, allegedly continued his reign of terror when he confronted two officers responding to the violent incident involving his 70-year-old mom in a New Orleans neighborhood Monday, police said, according to the Times-Picayune and WDSU-TV.
A female officer was injured in a fall down the stairs, while a male officer was allegedly bitten by the suspect. Both officers are recovering at home.
Officials said the elderly victim's arm was hanging on by her skin when she managed to run three miles away to a family member's home for help. She remains in critical condition.
"That's crazy. It's the same stuff you see on TV," neighbor Tawain Crockett said, according to WVUE-TV. "The neighbor who stays next door to him... she's always having issues with him. She would always give me a heads-up... so I could be alert."
Pittman has been charged with attempted murder and battery of a police officer, among several other charges, jail records indicate.
He was released on $10,000 bond last year after he allegedly attacked a 73-year-old military veteran in a bus station bathroom, the outlet reported, citing court documents.
"Somehow, in the face of a vicious attack on an elderly veteran in our city last August, the pretrial services program indicated that Pittman was the lowest possible risk level. As a result, the commissioner set an extremely low bail, allowing the defendant back onto the streets of New Orleans," the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office said in a statement, according to WVUE.
"Mr. Pittman should have been classified as a dangerous violent individual based on his attack on the victim in his first case. And now, as a result of the failure of the bail system, we have another horribly wounded senior citizen, as well as two officers."
"Pittman's most recent acts are disturbing, and that his victims have been elderly and those sworn to protect, they are telling of his danger to the community at large," the statement read.
A motive in Pittman's alleged attack against his mother – who is in critical condition – remains unclear.
