Across from a church, a man was hit with a hammer.
At about 1:30 a.m. Monday, Justin Mark Rensel, 21, struck his roommate in the forehead and left him bleeding, according to a police report.
It started with a fight.
Rensel said his roommate, Avery Miles Bachman, instigated the fight with a death threat, but Bachman disagreed, according to the report.
Police eventually sided with Bachman, according to the report.
Bachman said Rensel aggressively approached him as he sat in their living room, according to the report. Bachman told police he picked up a hammer to defend himself.
As the two wrestled, Rensel took the hammer from Bachman and swung it at his forehead, according to the report.
Both men called 911.
When police arrived, Rensel said he hit Bachman in self-defense, according to the report.
“That’s the hammer I hit him with, but he had it first,” he said, according to the report.
Rensel told police he was behind a closed door when he heard Bachman badmouthing him to a friend, according to the report.
Rensel told police he confronted Bachman, who then picked up the hammer and threatened to kill him, according to the report.
Police arrested Rensel on a charge of aggravated battery and took him to the Alachua County Jail, where he was released Monday on a $25,000 bond.
Contact Martin Vassolo at mvassolo@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @martindvassolo.
