Police Shoot At Man Armed With Chainsaw In Violent Rampage

TORRANCE (CBSLA.com) — Police fired on a man armed with a chainsaw on a Southern California Edison yard in Torrance Tuesday.

A security guard called police to the property on Yukon Avenue around 6:30 a.m. after the suspect was spotted driving erratically, Torrance police said.

Dino Mendoza recorded the incident on his mobile phone. The video shows the suspect in a white utility truck doing donuts in the lot. At one point, the vehicle almost backed into one of the police officers, who fired at least 20 shots at him, witnesses reported.

Mendoza said he almost got hit by gunshots. "I was literally in the line of fire. So, the only thing was if I make it out of here just see my son one more time. That's all that matters to me."

The violent and bizarre scene started with the man arriving at the SCE yard to settle a fight with the foreman there. The attacker took out a chainsaw when he first got to the property.

"The security guard tried to come up to the suspect and tried to talk to him. He grabbed his chainsaw out of his truck and started chasing the security guard," Mendoza added.

He got back into his truck as police arrived, and the chase on the lot was on. Police said they had no choice but to start shooting as the driver used his truck as a battering ram.

Officers eventually coaxed the man into surrendering. He was not hit by gunfire, just some shrapnel, police said. The suspect was taken to a hospital. No one else was hurt.