Torrance, Ca. - A disgruntled man who was armed with a chain saw and tried to run over people at a Southern California Edison contractor's property was arrested Tuesday after officers opened fire on him.
The incident began about 6:30 a.m. when a security guard on the Edison lot in the 17600 block of Yukon Avenue called police and requested help for an armed person, said Sgt. Paul Kranke with the Torrance Police Department.
Videos taken by workers showed a chaotic scene in which the man first ran around carrying the chain saw. He then got into a truck and wildly tore around the large, open property with a police car following him.
More than two dozen shots could be heard, with police yelling at the workers to stay away.
In the end, three officers pointed guns at the man in the truck, shouting "Get your hands up!" and apparently fired several rounds, the video showed.
Officers did fire at the man, but he was not struck, Kranke confirmed. He suffered other minor injuries during the incident and was being treated.
Aerial video from KTLA showed a man in handcuffs being taken into custody at about 7 a.m.
One other person suffered minor injuries in the incident, Kranke said, but it was unclear how that person was injured.
While the property belongs to Edison, it was being used by Birchfield Enterprises, a tree-trimming subcontractor that cuts back trees from power lines, the company's owner told KTLA.
The owner said he was the target of the chain saw-wielding man, who he said frequently came by looking for work. The man had occasionally worked jobs for the company, but was not employed by Birchfield, the owner said.
The man initially started throwing rocks at the owner, he said. Another witness told KTLA the man appeared to be "on drugs."
No officers were injured in the incident.
