Bainbridge police detain sword-wielding man

Published 4:40 pm Tuesday, March 23, 2010

A man was detained and then hospitalized by Bainbridge Island police officers Tuesday afternoon after he was found waving a sword around in an aggressive manner in the parking lot of the Pro Build lumber store on High School Road.

According to Lt. Sue Shultz, an off-duty police officer in the store called the department at 1:45 p.m. and said a man, wearing pants and shoes but no shirt, was standing in front of the store’s front door with a large Nanite sword in his hands. The 35-year-old man, who had multiple scrapes and cuts on his body, was swinging the sword and stabbing several miscellaneous objects such as empty beverage containers.

Several officers responded to the call and instructed the man to disarm himself, which he did without further incident. Shultz said the man was also armed with several throwing knifes and other sharp weapons.

“It appears that he had a mental health issue,” Shultz said. “He was aggressively waving the sword but there was no problem when we asked him to put the weapon down.”

When questioned, according to a police statement, the man said he was “hunting werewolves and chuds.” He was taken to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton.

Shultz said the man had been seen talking to customers in both Pro Build and nearby Ace Hardware, displaying and demonstrating his sword and knifes.