Man armed with large knife tries to break into Pasadena home, suspect at large

Startling surveillance footage shows a man armed with a large knife trying to enter a Pasadena woman's home Tuesday evening. Now, authorities are desperately looking for the man, who allegedly attempted entering a number of other homes in the area. 

The video shows the man, armed with what appears to be a kitchen knife, stabbing a tree in the yard and making slicing motions outside of the woman's home as he tries to jiggle her door open. 

"I was terrified," the woman said. "It was very frightening."

Wishing to remain unnamed, the woman said that she and her boyfriend were going through their normal routine when they realized that the man was trying to get into the house. 

"He had this huge kitchen knife and.... What is he gonna do with that?"

By the time her boyfriend ran to the door, the man was gone. But after checking security cameras on the home, they realized that he had been there for more than 20 minutes. 

"He had gone in a side gate and pried off the screen to a side window," the homeowner said. "Then he went around the back and took a screen off my bedroom window."

Police say that the attempted break-in wasn't an isolated incident either, as he attempted to enter several other houses in the area near Allen Street and Corson Street Tuesday evening, near the 210 Freeway. 

"He was found in the backyard and he was confronted by one of the homeowners who got in their car with another person who lives there with her," Pasadena Police Department Lieutenant Sean Dawkins said. "They followed him to an establishment in the city, not too far down the street, and he was hit with a bat by the homeowner."

Dawkins also wanted to make it clear that should they see the man, or anyone else unwanted outside of their homes, they should not try to take matters into their own hands. 

"They should call 911 immediately if something like that is taking place so we can respond and take necessary action," he said. 

The man still hasn't shown up at any area hospitals, and they've been unable to locate him thus far. They hope that the public can help identify him by his face and the "626" tattoo on his hand. 

Witnesses report seeing him in the area frequently, noting that he often travels by foot in the area between Colorado Boulevard and Altadena.