Nearly-naked man flees hospital, arms himself with shovel and terrorizes West Hills neighborhood

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Nearly-naked man flees hospital, frightens West Hills neighborhood
A nearly-naked man carrying a shovel who fled from a hospital terrorized a West Hills neighborhood and broke car windows before he was taken into custody Monday.

WEST HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A nearly-naked man fled from a hospital, grabbed a shovel and terrorized a West Hills neighborhood before he was taken into custody Monday night.

The man in his 30s was wearing just a hospital robe when he walked away from a nearby hospital, police said.

He found a shovel and was banging on doors and breaking windows of parked vehicles when residents called police.

Officers responded to the 22800 block of Valerio Street and were able to convince the man to get on the ground and eventually surrender. He was taken into custody without further incident.

Police recovered the shovel. Broken glass was visible at the scene.

The man was brought back to the hospital. Police are investigating the incident for possible vandalism charges.