ST. CHARLES - A St. Charles man beat his mother to the kitchen floor Sunday and sent his brother to the hospital by whacking him in his head with a claw hammer, authorities said.

Patrick A. Sweeney, 47, of the first block of Buckingham Place, was charged Monday with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, both felonies, and third-degree misdemeanor assault.

Police arrested Sweeney on Sunday after he punched his mother, 66, in the head, neck, back and shoulders, knocking her to the kitchen floor, police said. "She feared that she would die on the kitchen floor," police said in a probable cause statement.

Sweeney attacked his brother with a hammer when he tried to stop Sweeney from punching their mother, police said. Sweeney struck his brother several times in the head, causing severe injuries requiring treatment at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital. His condition was not available Monday.

Police said Sweeney has a history of alcohol and drug abuse. He was jailed in St. Charles in lieu of a $100,000 cash bail.