Sword-Wielding Masked Man In Custody In Plano
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PLANO (CBS11) - A masked man wielding a sword on a busy Plano street was taken into custody Thursday while police tried to figure out what he was doing.
This became a very strange standoff after police found the man walking along Independence Parkway with a samurai sword. Fortunately they had just the weapon to counter it.
When people saw the man walking through the Ridgeview Ranch subdivision, 911 operators soon heard about it.
"There is a guy. This is going to be hard to believe, a guy wearing a suit of armor and some sort of a mask and carrying a sword, walking down Independence," a caller could be heard saying on a 911 recording.
Johnny Sanchez was working nearby when he saw the man confront police.
"It definitely looked like he was wearing a cape, and he had like a sword and stuff just swinging," Sanchez said.
Sanchez used his phone to record video as police tried to get the man to drop the sword. When the suspect refused to cooperate, officers used a special rifle.
"Ultimately they did deploy the less lethal device which basically shoots out a rubber baton and knocked the individual down and ultimately take him into custody," Officer David Tilley said.
Police believed the man was suffering from a mental illness and took him to be evaluated before deciding on whether to arrest him.
"I think they did the right thing. They took him down without having to kill anybody, which is good. So I'm glad that they did that. No one needs to die," Sanchez said.
Frisco ISD tells us one of their nearby elementary schools kept students indoors during the incident but did not have to go into lockdown because no students were ever at risk. Police have not released the suspect's name pending the outcome of his mental health evaluation.
