VIDEO: Police shoot at suspect who chased man with chainsaw, truck at Torrance Edison facility

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
VIDEO: Police shoot at suspect who chased man with chainsaw, truck at Torrance Edison facility
Torrance police opened fire on a suspect who they said chased a man with a chainsaw and tired to hit several people with a truck at a Southern California Edison facility.

TORRANCE, Calif. (KABC) -- Police said they caught a man who chased someone with a chainsaw and then tried to run over others with a truck at a Southern California Edison storage facility in Torrance.

Authorities received a call regarding an incident at the storage facility in the 17600 block of Yukon Avenue around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.

When authorities arrived, a security officer asked for help dealing with a suspect who was armed with a weapon.

A subcontractor for a tree-trimming firm used by SoCal Edison argued with a foreman, chased him with a chainsaw and then tried to run over people with a work truck, according to police.

The suspect attempted to flee the scene, which is near Yukon Elementary School, but officers blocked the only entrance to the work yard.

When the man realized he was trapped, police said the suspect backed the vehicle up toward the officers and that's when they opened fire.

Video from the scene captured the truck circling the work yard with a squad car on its tail. The work truck slammed into a pick-up truck and police fired more shots.

Officers on foot surrounded the suspect in the vehicle and open fired.

As officers told the man to put his hands up, the suspect was seen throwing something out the window of the truck. An officer with a long gun then fired more shots.

Incredibly, police said none of the bullets struck the suspect. Officials said the man suffered minor injuries, possibly from shattered glass or from the chainsaw.

No officers were hurt. What exactly led up to the shooting was unclear.

The suspect was taken to the hospital for treatment. He was later arrested for attempted murder and assault with the dead weapon.

The foreman also had minor injuries, but officials said it's unclear what caused them.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.