A North Whidbey boy who just turned 12 years old is being held in detention after hitting his mother with a chair, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged the boy in Island County Superior Court Feb. 15 with assault in the second degree — with a deadly weapon — and assault in the fourth degree. The charges are considered domestic violence crimes.

Deputies with the Island County Sheriff’s Office responded to the family’s home Feb. 13 after receiving a report of an assault.

The woman reported that the boy attacked her during an argument over cleaning his room and lying about having a cigarette lighter.

The boy became angry and hit his mother twice in the face with a metal broom and then bit her on the arm and stomach, a deputy’s report states. The boy then hit her in the leg with a large wooden chair; when she fell to the ground, he threw the chair at her face, striking her between the eyes, the report states.

The boy’s grandmother tried to intervene and he tried to hit her, the report indicates.

The deputy noted that the boy’s mother had obvious injuries, including a large bruise forming between her eyes.

The woman told deputies that the boy had attacked her many times in the past but nothing could be done previously due to his young age. The boy suffers from multiple mental health conditions, court records indicate.

The woman said she is terrified of the boy and can’t overpower him; his father was on deployment with the Navy.

On Feb. 14, a judge ordered the boy to be held in Island County Juvenile Detention on $500 bail.