4-Year-Old Hit in Hammer Attack

A man from Reliance, Tennessee with a history of violence and a bad temper winds up arrested on three counts of aggravated domestic assault after what happened on a Bradley County Road.

According to the incident report, the violence happened on the street corner at Waterlevel Highway and Rymer Road, when 28-year-old Edward Davenport and his girlfriend, Mary Clayton, were dropping off a deck. At the time, Clayton's two children were in the car: a 4-year-old girl and an 8-month-old boy she shares with Davenport.

Police say the two adults began arguing, and Davenport demanded to be let out of the car. The incident report states that Davenport grabbed a stick, and threw it, striking the baby. Clayton reportedly tried to pull off, and when she did, according to the report, Davenport tried to climb in through the truck's window, and punched Clayton in the face.

Clayton drove off and detectives say tried to go to a friend's house further down the road. To get there, she had to pass Davenport. Police say witnesses looked on in horror as Davenport grabbed a hammer, and sent it crashing through the windshield, allegedly aiming for his girlfriend. Police say the hammer hit the 4-year-old, and the glass shattered all over her baby brother.

A witness called 9-1-1 and medics arrived and treated the children on the scene. Davenport had fled to an aunt's house, where he was arrested on three counts of aggravated domestic assault. According to the report, Davenport admitted he threw the hammer, but told police, he wasn't aiming for the children, just their mother. Sheriff Tim Gobble says that doesn't make it any better.

"When you throw a hammer through a windshield of a car, you're intending to hurt someone," Gobble says. "We're just lucky no one was seriously injured. When a hammer comes through a window of a car, it could've killed somebody."

Davenport remains in the Bradley County Justice Center.