Bodycam video shows Irvine police shoot, kill suspect accused of fatally stabbing paralyzed man

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Saturday, September 14, 2024
Video shows Irvine PD shoot suspect accused of killing paralyzed man
New bodycam video shows an Irvine police officer fatally shoot a suspect accused of breaking into a home and stabbing a paralyzed man to death.

IRVINE, Calif. (KABC) -- Newly release body camera video shows the intense moment an Irvine police officer fatally shot a suspect accused of stabbing a paralyzed man to death.

John Alexander Bash III, a 38-year-old man confined to a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury, was killed in his own home on Whistling Swan Aug. 5, police said.

An Irvine police officer later fatally shot the suspect, 47-year-old Aaron Matthew Shindle, during a confrontation.

Surveillance video shows Shindle crash a minivan into Bash's home and then break into the residence. Shindle bursts into Bash's bedroom and brutally stabs the defenseless victim to death.

Bash's caregiver frantically called 911 for help after hearing the commotion.

"This is like a murder scene. Oh my God!" the caregiver said in the 911 call released by police. "I don't know what to do."

Police rushed to the scene to find Shindle's van partially inside the house.

A search is launched and Shindle is found about an hour later at Stonecreek South and West Yale Loop.

An officer asks Shindle for his name and if he lives in the area. He then tells Shindle to put his knife down.

After multiple commands to drop the knife are ignored, the officer opens fire.

An Irvine police drone was recording the incident and captured an aerial view of the moment shots were fired.

First responders then performed first-aid, but Shindle died at a hospital.

Police say they recovered a knife at the scene.

Investigators say Shindle was Bash's former caregiver, but family members say he had not worked for Bash for several years.

After the murder, heartbroken family members told Eyewitness News that the entire chain of events was hard to process.

"I'm devastated. My wife's whole family is completely devastated, but the second thought is very upset because we have somebody who cannot defend themselves," Bash's brother-in-law Lindsey Myers said. "He has no ability to run away. He has no ability to get up and move, and for something like this to happen to him is just so very tragic."