Police shot and killed a shirtless man wielding a chainsaw after he reportedly threatened elderly residents at a senior living facility in St. Charles, Illinois, on Sunday morning.
Shirtless man terrorizes elderly people with chainsaw
Authorities were called to the scene around 8:45 a.m., responding to reports of a shirtless maniac reportedly attempting to cut down a tree with the chainsaw in the facility’s yard. But by the time officers arrived, the situation had escalated.
According to police, the man had entered the lobby of the River Glen assisted living center and was allegedly confronting senior residents with the chainsaw.
Despite multiple attempts to de-escalate the situation, the man reportedly refused to cooperate, allegedly threatening both the civilians and the arriving officers.
Police said they used a Taser in an effort to subdue him, but it was ineffective. An officer was ultimately forced to fire his weapon, striking the individual.
Shirtless man killed by police
“An officer was then forced to fire his service weapon, striking the suspect,” police explained in an official statement.
Following the shooting, the individual was transported to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, and determined to be deceased.
Law enforcement noted that while several residents sustained minor injuries during the incident, some officers on the scene also required medical attention. Emergency services treated these injuries on-site.
The River Glen assisted living center issued a statement expressing their gratitude toward law enforcement.
“This morning, an unauthorized person briefly entered our community and was quickly stopped by responding officers,” they commented. “We are deeply grateful for the swift action of our team and law enforcement.”
Pastor takes down axe-wielding psycho
Meanwhile, in California, the spotlight turned to a pastor whose martial arts skills came in handy during an attempted robbery at his church in Antioch.
Pastor Nick Neves, who has been with First Family Church for two decades, sprang into action after getting an alert just after midnight on Thanksgiving.
Neves recounted confronting the intruder, who allegedly came toward him holding a box of stolen church materials.
I told him to stop, and he didn’t want to stop, so he ran and I ran after him and grabbed a hold of him. But I didn’t get a hold of him until we got out to the parking lot,” Neves told reporters.
The scuffle lasted between 12 to 15 minutes, during which Neves used his jiu-jitsu and kickboxing skills to subdue the would-be burglar.
“I tried to maintain back control on the gentleman so that he wasn’t able to strike at me very effectively,” he explained. “And I tried to keep control of his hands, so that if he had a weapon of some kind, I would be able to keep him from getting that weapon and using it against me.”
He was compelled into action so that the criminal wouldn’t come back later and try to rob the church again.
“You can find that, sometimes, there becomes a pattern where you get victimized a lot if you don’t do anything to stand up for yourself,” he explained.
Neves also drew a distinction between strength and compassion, stating, “Being a loving person doesn’t mean you have to be a weak person, and humility and strength are not antithesis to each other,” he told the outlet.
“If there’s a situation where you need to stand up for yourself, I don’t think you have to apologize for that.”
The Antioch Police Department took a lighthearted approach in their public announcement about the suspect’s arrest.
“When the burglar saw his wicked deeds had been discovered he decided to fight with the pastor instead of repent,” the department wrote in a Facebook post.
What he did not know was the pastor would win this battle of good and evil and he held down the perp until APD arrived and placed the man in custody,” the statement continued.
They added that they were thankful Neves came out of the incident uninjured and praised him for his bravery.
The suspect reportedly used an axe, which was pictured in the police department’s post, to break into the church.
Reflecting on the incident, Neves shared a surprising wish for future interactions with the man.
“Hopefully I get a chance to speak to this guy again,” Neves stated. “I hope I have an opportunity to meet him in better circumstances, and maybe to talk to him a little bit without the panic of him getting arrested.”
