Clerk hit on head in hammer attack at Ohio dollar store

CANTON, Ohio (WJW) — One of two people now in police custody allegedly attacked a dollar store clerk with a hammer in Ohio, striking her several times, including on the head, according to a police report.

Police responded on May 8 to a Dollar General store in Canton, Ohio for a report of a woman wielding a hammer and a man who was assaulting people inside the store, according to the report.

By the time police arrived, the suspects had fled in a hatchback.

The clerk told police the female suspect hit her with the hammer multiple times on her body and head. The woman, who police noted had cuts and a bump on her head, was transported to a nearby hospital. She was expected to undergo testing, according to the report.

Another victim told police the man struck her multiple times in the back of the head. She also showed police her cell phone video of the alleged hammer attack.

A third victim said she tried to intervene and calm the male suspect, but the man poured a beer on her head and slapped her across the face, knocking her glasses off, according to the report.

The fourth victim recorded the suspects fleeing the store, then went outside to capture their car's license plate. The male suspect then tried to hit the man with his car, according to the report.

Other police officers later spotted the vehicle in another area of town and arrested both suspects. The hammer suspected as the weapon was also found in the car, according to the report.

Payton Valentine, 21, and Mannon Valentine, 20, both of Canton, are now each charged with one count of felonious assault and are being held on a $75,000 bond.