Victims Recovering from Hammer Attack

LONGVIEW — Two victims of a hammer attack in Tatum last week continue to recover. As of Monday morning, Betty Barker was listed in good condition at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview. Barker spent three days in serious condition before her condition was upgraded. Donald Wagstaff was released from the hospital Sunday afternoon.

According to KETK, authorities arrested 20-year-old Michael Christopher Ferris of White Oak after the Thursday afternoon attack on the elderly woman and the elderly man, who was working in the yard. Officials said Ferris reportedly knocked on Barker’s door. When she answered, he allegedly attacked her with a claw hammer. As he ran from the home, he reportedly encountered Wagstaff and attacked him as well. Barker was the more severely injured of the two. She was struck repeatedly from behind and was left with many bruises and lacerations.

After the assaults, Tatum police said Ferris ran into the woods, beginning a three-hour manhunt. At least two nearby Tatum schools and one child care facility were locked down as authorities searched for Ferris, who police said was in custody by early evening. Ferris faces two counts of attempted murder and two counts of injury to an elderly person. He has been booked into the Panola County Jail, and his bond is set at $4 million.