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Shirtless Man Goes On Rock-Throwing Rampage Targeting Buses, Motorists

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA)  -- A shirtless man went on a rock-throwing rampage targeting buses and motorists in the Mid-Wilshire district.

CBS2's Chris Holmstrom said the man was on Venice Boulevard throwing rocks, some the size of baseballs, at passing vehicles.

In several cases, the man could be seen coming closer to the vehicles to get a better shot at windows.

On one bus, passengers got off and subdued the man including punching and kicking him. They were able to restrain the man until police came and arrested him.

Cellphone video shows the man throwing rocks, standing in the middle of traffic and making some drivers swerve around him. He appears to have broken at least half dozen windows.

Several drivers see what the man is doing and step on the gas and evade the rocks.

The video shows him smashing the window of one van. About a minute later, he approaches a bus. He chucks a rock at the front windshield but it doesn't break. When it fails to break, he takes the rock and does it again, this time closer to where the driver is positioned.He throws a rock at the windshield cracking it in at least four or five places.

The suspect then goes to another bus and throws a rock at the side windows. That's when the driver ran off the bus. The suspect then walked onto the bus causing many passengers to rush out.

That's when a man named Chris Henry came into the story.

Holmstrom spoke to him by phone.

"So I ran over to the bus and I opened the bus driver's side window," Henry says, "And I tried to pull him out of the driver's seat. I thought if he took the bus, he's going to run people over and they were going to get killed."

Henry said the man was combative.

"He started fighting back and I started throwing punches at him," Henry says, "And I didn't stop and realized at some point he wouldn't be able to drive with someone throwing punches at him."

Henry said that's when the man tried to run off the bus. But by this time he encountered a small group who were  brave enough to go back onto the bus. Together, they threw the man off the bus and slammed him to the ground.

Several passengers are shown kicking the man and trying to keep him on the ground. Seconds later he gives up.

Holmstrom says the 32-year-old man was restrained with zip ties until police arrived and took him into custody.

Authorities said the rampage lasted for about 20 minutes and the suspect did damage to about 25 vehicles.

He was charged with attempted carjacking of a bus and 11 counts of throwing rocks at a vehicle with the intent to injure.

Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported.

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