Can they get violent towards

In a word: yes.

Others here can share their experiences in full, but in the interest of a
quick response, let me offer this. You need to alert your dad's doctor
immediately, and your mom should not be left alone with him until he can be
evaluated. He is probably having delusions, and in his mind, she is a threat
and he is defending himself.

It's a rotten disease.

Songbird

Yes they sure can. My Mother hits quite frequently, it would be amusing if
it were not rather emotionally hurtful, because she does not pack much of a
punch. I usually just back out of range until she gets over it, but a man
with some strength could really hurt someone.

Johnny, you have gotten some true answers here.   I agree with both so far.
You had better notify his doctor right away, it may be that delusions are
starting and he is just confused.   There are meds for that, but it is
something you definitely need to talk over with the doctor.   Knowing how
alzheimer patients tend to get the same delusions over and over, it might
recur again, so you may need to make sure your mom is safe and not in danger
from him.

He has never done anything like this before. Lately he has been

Please protect your mother right away.   An elderly woman was killed by her
husband(who has Alzheimer's) during the night at an assisted living facility
a few years ago.  It happened in Florida but they were from here.   The
violent behavior was completely out of character for him before the
Alzheimer's.

A similar thing happened to family friends.

Jim was a very old friend of my father in law, and although a large
man, was always a very courtly, kind, gentle, old school kind of man.
His wife Elena was quite tiny, and more than a decade younger. Until
the mid stages of his Alzheimer's, Jimmy just got vaguer and vaguer. He
was still the same lovely man - but by mid AD, he got to be almost like
a preschooler. When he was frightened or frustrated, he started hitting
- and he didn't seem to realize that his size meant he could really
hurt someone, and the loss of inhibitions meant he couldn't control
himself. Basically, when  4 year old slugs another kid, he gives it
everything he's got and doesn't hold back - and poor Jim was no
different.

Elena had to place him in a facility because of the physical danger.
She just couldn't manage him because he was so big and strong (and
anyone who has tried to bathe or dress someone in mid AD who really
doesn't want to do either will appreciate how hard it is to do, even
when you have the size advantage). My MIL got a couple of good whacks
in on me a few times when I was trying to change her sweater, but I was
a whole lot bigger than her, so she didn't really hurt me.

I've told the story here before about the little Scottish lady in my
mother in law's AD ward who used to swear like a trooper (she'd scuttle
in and holler at the nurses "you dirty b***s, I know you're trying to
poison me!"). That part seemed blackly funny, but she also used to
throw things, and she was surprisingly strong - I once saw throwing
chairs before they could stop her. She was just a teeny little woman
(maybe 80 pounds soaking wet), but she certainly had the potential to
seriously injure someone.

I agree with other posters - take this very seriously and get him seen
by a doctor. Medications can help - and if you can't get him settled
down with drugs, it might be time for placement.

Some good advice is located on this page

http://www.vh.org/adult/patient/neurology/alzheimers/violence.html

Mary G.

As parts of the brain become damaged by the disease, the social inhibitions
get ripped away and the delusions become worse.  Drugs help.  My MIL tried
to slap and attack with her fingernails before we got her meds straightened
out.  Risperdal helped her immensely.

I remember a case I heard about 20 years ago where a man ran his family out
of the house at gun point.  He was obviously not in his right mind, but that
didn't diminish the danger to the family.  IIWY, I'd call his doctor ASAP.
The biggest trick is getting them started on the medications because it can
be incredibly tricky to get them to take the first doses.  Think about it --
if you thought someone was trying to kill you, would you take the pills they
told you to take?  Once you reach even ground it's easier to maintain, but
getting them there is a challenge.

IMO, the psychiatrist that we consulted on my MIL's behalf up front was a
godsend because he knew the brain so well he was able to manage her psych
drugs so that she wasn't drugged out but she wasn't so wild.  Her PCP wasn't
much help on psych drugs but she was at least willing to admit it wasn't her
area of expertise and suggest we go to someone else.  We got the referral
for the psychiatrist from a local Alzheimer's facility.  They knew him
because he treated several of their residents.

Karen