Orleans Man Charged In Ax Attack, Home Invasion

ORLEANS (CBS) -- A man armed with an ax and knife attacked three people inside a home in Orleans on Monday, sending one woman to the hospital.

Jamie Hemple, 43, of Orleans, is facing charges including home invasion, attempted murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Orleans police were called to a home on Pond Road at 4:44 p.m. for a report that a man was inside attacking people with an ax and a knife.

When officers arrived, they found the front door smashed open. Hemple was being restrained by two victims of the assault, and was taken into custody after a brief struggle, police said. Police say it was a targeted attack.

One of the victims, Susan Finn, told WBZ-TV's Bill Shields Hemple was trying to get to a woman who had taken out a restraining order against him.

"I was scared to death," Finn said. "This is something that happens in the movies, not in my house."

The woman was staying at the Pond Road home, when Hemple allegedly burst in and tried to get her. Finn was hit in the shoulder with the ax. She needed more than two dozen stitches to fix the wound.

"I fell down and I screamed 'Jamie no' and I turned and I rolled over and he hit me again, got me in the arm," Finn said. "And then as I was running away, he swung one last time and got me in the back of my leg."

Finn's boyfriend, Kevin Eldridge, tackled Hemple, preventing him from reaching his intended target. Eldridge said he thought they were all going to die. "I jumped him," he said. "I jumped on his back as he was coming forward, I jumped forward against him and tackled him."

Hemple was the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant at the time, police said.

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