Man Barricaded Himself In Rite Aid Cooler With Several Knives: Police

RIVERSIDE, CA — A man armed with several knives was taken into custody after a more than two-hour standoff with police inside a Riverside Rite Aid, according to authorities.

The man was menacing customers and workers at the business while holding the knives, according to police, who were called around 2:30 p.m. to the drugstore at Canyon Crest Town Center in the 5200 block of Canyon Crest Drive.

The man appeared disheveled and was not making sense, police said, adding that the man refused to surrender and eventually barricaded himself in a cooler in the store.

Officers attempted to get the man to leave the cooler by deploying pepper-ball, but it didn’t work, and he started harming himself with the knives, police said. At that point, a SWAT team entered the cooler and took him into custody around 4:45 p.m., but he continued to resist, according to police.

The man’s only injuries were self-inflicted and no one else was hurt, police said, adding that the man was taken to a hospital. Officers will evaluate whether to book him into jail on brandishing charges or admit him to a mental health facility first, according to police.