An Illinois police officer shot and killed a man wielding a chainsaw last weekend after he reportedly threatened nursing home patients.
A Dec. 1 news release from the St. Charles Police Department said officers were called that morning to the River Glen of St. Charles, an assisted living facility.
Witnesses reported that a shirtless male with a chainsaw was attempting to cut down a tree on the property.
Before the police arrived, the man entered the lobby and began confronting the residents with the revved-up power tool.
Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, however, the suspect continued his attempts to use the chainsaw against residents,” the news release said.
Police tried using a Taser on the perpetrator “but his attack continued,” according to the report.
At that point, one of the officers drew his weapon and shot the man.
Despite receiving first aid at the scene and being transported to a nearby hospital, the man was later pronounced dead.
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Residents, along with officers, received only minor injuries during the incident.
“It scares us. But I’m sure it’s a one-time incident, and we hope and pray that that’s the situation, because we love the community,” neighbor Tom Lapis told Chicago new outlet WLS-TV.
Paul Ekstrom’s 100-year-old mother was having breakfast in a dining room near the lobby when the chainsaw man entered.
“Every time I recount this story, it just doesn’t seem real,” Ekstrom told WLS. “If it wasn’t for the police, I mean, thank God for the police, they would’ve been sitting ducks.”
Police later identified the attacker as 41-year-old Daniel Escalera, of Stockwell, Indiana.
Daniel H. Escalera’s lengthy record, obtained Monday night by the I-Team, offers some clues as to why he wandered up there with a blazing chainsaw. https://t.co/KN2D9N192X
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) December 3, 2024
Escalera had a criminal record dating back 25 years that included arrests for driving under the influence, other serious drug and alcohol-related charges, and resisting law enforcement, according to WLS.
Daniel Escalera, 41, of Stockwell, IN was ID’d by authorities as the man wielding a chainsaw that allegedly tried to attack residents at an assisted living facility yesterday in St. Charles. This is a mug from a June arrest in Boone County, IN. 🧵 https://t.co/C0vjl0eJmM pic.twitter.com/jCkt4jXISS
— Courtney Spinelli (@CourtSpinelliTV) December 2, 2024
He was also accused of stabbing his wife and of beating a motorcyclist with his own helmet in a road-rage incident.
At the time of the chainsaw attack, Escalera was apparently supposed to have been in jail for a probation violation.
It is not clear why he had been roaming free.
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