Man Arrested In Connection With Assault On Lowell General Nurse

LOWELL, MA — A Lowell man was arrested in connection with a violent attack on a nurse at the Lowell General Hospital Saints Campus, police said.

Police responded to a reported assault in progress at the hospital Saturday, they said. Police were told a nurse had been hit in the head. When they arrived, police helped hospital security detain the alleged attacker.

Jean Paul Durand, 65 of Lowell, was arrested and charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Durand was a patient at the hospital. According to police investigators, he came up behind the nurse, who was seated at a desk, and hit her twice in the head with a fire extinguisher.

Durand was then distracted by another nurse, who he chased with the fire extinguisher before being subdued by hospital security.

The nurse was treated for her injuries at a hospital and has been released, police said.

Durand was arraigned at Lowell District Court on Monday and is being held without bail pending his next hearing on Friday.