Man emerges from bathroom stall and beats 81-year-old with hammer, Minnesota cops say

A Minnesota man is facing a charge of attempted murder after beating an 81-year-old man with a hammer inside a grocery store bathroom, police told news outlets.

According to Duluth police, the attack happened at Mount Royal Market at about 8:50 a.m. Friday, May 24, the Duluth News Tribune reported.

Bradley French was standing at a urinal when 43-year-old Lance Alexander Tolbert emerged from a bathroom stall and began hitting him in the head with a hammer, police told the newspaper.

Tolbert continued striking French even after he fell to the ground, the outlet reported. French fought back against Tolbert, but the attack only ended when another person entered the restroom, police said.

Officials say French suffered a fractured skull, a broken hand bone, lacerations and a puncture wound, KQDS reported.

French told police he didn’t know Tolbert and they had never spoken, the station reported.

Tolbert left the store but was found within minutes, and had “what appeared to be blood on his (knees),” officials told the outlet. The next day, police found a blood-stained hammer inside a jacket belonging to Tolbert.

French was last reported in stable condition, police told Northern News Now.

Records show Tolbert was booked into the St. Louis County Jail on a charge of premeditated attempted murder.

Duluth is a roughly 150-mile drive northeast from Minneapolis.

This story was originally published May 28, 2024 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Man emerges from bathroom stall and beats 81-year-old with hammer, Minnesota cops say."