Tag: SAN BERNARDINO POLICE DEPARTMENT
Man Hospitalized After Removing Clothes, Dousing Himself With Bleach Inside San Bernardino Stater Bros.
A man was taken to a hospital Monday night after he stripped off his clothing and doused himself in bleach in a San Bernardino Stater Bros. Market, according to police.
Shortly before 9:40 p.m., the man entered the Stater Bros. st store located in the 100 block of East 40th Street, and — for unknown reasons — eventually discarded his clothing, said San Bernardino Police Department Sgt. Mark Aranda. He also vandalized the grocery store and assaulted at least one customer, store management said.
At first, the man was only missing a shirt, and a security guard asked him to put one on, according to a statement from Stater Bros. Markets.
However, the man then walked over to the aisle containing household products and poured two gallons of bleach all over himself, the chain’s management said.
One witness said the man was also covered in blood.
“The gentleman had some blood on his arms and the manager asked him to leave, and he started pouring bleach on himself,” said Joe Lira, who tried to subdue the man with the help of another.
After that, the man went to the store’s checkout area and removed all his clothes, repeatedly jumped on and off a checkout stand and vandalized the register’s monitor, according to management. He also allegedly assaulted a customer who was waiting in line and knocked over another’s bag of groceries.
The store’s manager attempted to apprehend the man, who then ran to the deli area and jumped on the counter. The security guard, who is employed by a sub-contractor, then used a Taser to detain him.
Lira said the process required the help of him and another bystander.
“Another gentleman tried to grab his neck and I tried to grab his feet, but he was too slippery and he just went wild. And they finally Tased him and held him down till police got here,” he said.
By the time officers and medical aid arrived at the scene, the man had been detained by on-site security and store employees, according to Aranda.
“It was a frightening situation for everybody. If it wasn’t for the security guard inside and the employees detaining him, there could have been an awful ending to this tragic event,” Aranda said.
The man was transported to a local hospital for treatment, where officials said his health had stabilized.
Authorities did not disclose the man’s identity.
KTLA’s Sarah Fenton and Erika Martin contributed to this story.