A woman has been arrested after hitting another woman with a hammer in a downtown Nanaimo mall.

A woman has been arrested after hitting another woman with a hammer in a downtown Nanaimo mall.

Police were called to Port Place Shopping Centre on Tuesday after one of two women involved in a physical altercation was hit in the chest with a hammer.

During the altercation, the woman with the hammer allegedly said she also had a gun.

Nanaimo RCMP arrived, handcuffed and arrested the woman but did not find a gun in her possession, according to reserve Constable Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman.

The 41-year-old suspect was arrested for assault with a weapon and released on the condition that she does not return to Port Place or have contact with the victim. She will appear in provincial court in Nanaimo sometime in May.

O’Brien said the victim, in her mid 20s, did not require medical attention.