Miami man arrested after attacking wife with hammer

A Miami man is in custody after seriously injuring his wife with a hammer in a domestic dispute early Saturday morning.

Miami police said they responded to an apartment building in the 600 block of Southwest Seventh Court at about 8 a.m. after a neighbor called saying they heard a woman crying out for help in Spanish.

Officers arrived and entered the apartment where they saw the suspect, Jose Guillermo Duarte, 81, covered in blood and attacking the victim with a hammer. The officers took Duarte into custody after ordering him to drop the hammer.

Duarte has been charged with one count of premeditated attempted murder with a deadly weapon. Miami Fire Rescue transported the woman to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center where she remains in critical condition.

“If it wouldn’t have been for that neighbor making that call that woman might not be alive,” said Miami police spokeswoman Kenia Fallat.

This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Miami man arrested after attacking wife with hammer."