Ex-Employee Who Pulled Gun at Rancho Cucamonga Business Sought by Authorities

Authorities are searching for an “armed suspect” who confronted former employees and fired a gunshot during an altercation at an industrial business in Rancho Cucamonga Friday, officials said.

Rancho Cucamonga police officers responded to the scene of the incident in the 9600 block of Feron Boulevard around 12 p.m., San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials said. Video from the scene showed officers responding to a Goodyear plant on the block.

A man entered an upstairs conference room where the business was conducting a safety training and began making violent threats toward former employees, officials said.

The man previously worked at the company and was terminated about two weeks ago, sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Marc Bracco said.

A safety coordinator at the event saw the man reach for his waistband for a handgun. The safety coordinator grabbed the man, who then pulled the handgun and fired a single shot. No one was struck, Bracco said.

The safety coordinator was able to pull the gun from the man, who then attempted to leave the business, officials said.

The safety coordinator chased the fleeing man down a flight of stairs. During the chase, the man pulled pepper spray from his pocket and sprayed the safety coordinator, who was able to keep control of the man’s gun — a .22-caliber handgun that investigators later recovered, officials said.

The man was able to flee the scene in a vehicle. Authorities do not know the make of the vehicle or the direction the man drove, officials said.

“If he has one firearm there’s a good chance he probably has a second,” Bracco said. “His propensity of violence is evident. So yes, we are treating him as an armed suspect.”

The victim suffered minor injuries to his arm during the altercation. He was treated at the scene and did not need to go to a hospital, officials said.

“There’s heroes in our society that we never get to see until incidents like this call upon him,” Bracco said about the victim. “He just saved anywhere from 10 to 16 employees from being injured in that shooting.”

The Sheriff’s Department has identified the man but authorities are not releasing his name because they believe it will jeopardize the investigation.

 

 

 

from KTLA http://ift.tt/2yPRNZp