Philando Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds charged with assault in hammer attack

Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of the slain Philando Castile, was charged with assault Friday in connection with a hammer attack on a woman on St. Paul's East Side.

Reynolds, 27, of West St. Paul, faces charges of second- and third-degree assault in the Tuesday morning attack, according to a criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County District Court. Two other women — Chnika Blair, 18, and Dyamond Richardson, 25 — face the same charges.

Bail was set at $90,000 each, and all three women are expected to appear in court on Monday afternoon, according to online records.

Reynolds was catapulted into the international spotlight last summer when she livestreamed the aftermath of Castile's fatal shooting by a St. Anthony police officer during a traffic stop.

Her Facebook video, which was replayed millions of times, sparked widespread protests and fueled a national conversation about police killings of black men.

According to the complaint, the incident in question started after 10 a.m. Tuesday when Reynolds and Blair confronted the victim in a parking lot in the 1500 block of Jessamine Lane. Authorities say the two women "jumped" the victim, with one of the attackers, thought to be Reynolds, wielding a hammer.

The victim remembers being repeatedly struck in the head with the hammer, with one blow sending her to the ground and causing her to momentarily black out, the complaint said.

Minutes later, Richardson pulled up to the scene in another vehicle and began spraying the victim with "bear mace."

Police said the woman was taken to Regions Hospital with serious injuries. In a bedside interview with police, she reportedly picked her assailants out of three different photo lineups.

The women who assaulted her reportedly left the area in separate vehicles, police say. The three were arrested separately on Thursday and booked into the Ramsey County jail on suspicion of assault.

Police said the women had a simmering feud — that Richardson was upset with a friend of the victim's, whom she accused of showing up at her job last month to pick a fight. Reynolds also had a dispute with the same friend, claiming that the woman had damaged Reynolds' vehicle, the complaint said.

Phone and e-mail messages left for a Chicago-based attorney who previously worked with Reynolds weren't returned Friday.

The Ramsey County attorney's office, which is prosecuting the officer charged with fatally shooting Castile, has turned that case over to the Washington County attorney to avoid a conflict of interest, a spokesman said.

Libor Jany • 612-673-4788