14-year-old boy admits beating his grandmother with a hammer

BALTIMORE - Mug shots aren't supposed to look like this.

The baby faced teen pictured is Hassanhii Garrett, the 14 year old police say beat his 66 year old grandmother with a hammer while she slept Thursday morning.

His aunt says she was the first person he called after the alleged attack.

"He just told me that he found his grandmom laying on the floor in a pool of blood and, he didn't [tell the truth]," said Robin Ramsey-McKissic.

The truth as police saw it became obvious to detectives when they responded to the home on 34th street; the story it seemed was far more disturbing.

According to charging documents, Garrett was getting ready for school Thursday morning and became angry with his grandmother.

When she fell back asleep, the teen admitted to picking up a hammer and striking her in the head.

She tried to stammer away but fell; police say Garrett then continued to punch his grandmother in the head.

"It's still unbelievable,” said his aunt, “It's as if you know, it's surreal. It's unfathomable that this kid could strike his grandmom in her sleep."

And it is hardly over yet.

Garrett's grandmother remains in critical condition, family telling us she is in an induced coma to help her brain heal.

Her teen grandson meanwhile sits in central booking facing very adult charges and adult time.

"Due to the severity of the crime, after conferring with the state's attorney office, the primary detectives assigned to the case did decide to pursue prosecution as an adult," said Baltimore City Police Detective Kevin Brown.

The charges only add to an already heavy toll on the teen's family as they pray for the recovery of one member, and the fate of another.

"He spends weekends at my house. At Sundays he's at church. [So you never saw it coming?} Never and my family, that's what we're struggling with, the fact that we didn't see this," said Ramsey-McKissic.

The family tells us Garrett was being raised by his grandmother because his mother died when he was young.

The 14-year-old now faces first and second degree assault and attempted murder charges along with using a dangerous weapon to injure and reckless endangerment.