Deputies Arrest Man Armed With Machete In Winchester Tuesday

FRENCH VALLEY, CA — Riverside County Sheriff's Department deputies arrested one man armed with a machete in the unincorporated area of Winchester Tuesday morning, a department spokesperson told Patch.

The sheriff's department did not immediately release his name.

There were no injuries during the incident, the department spokesperson said, and the man was peacefully taken into custody.

The machete-wielding suspect startled residents of the Adelaide Farms area, near Cady and Benton Roads, before 11 a.m., according to numerous social media reports. Arriving deputies advised French Valley Elementary School officials to lock down the campus while they searched for the man and ultimately placed him under arrest.

Jonathon Cole, the Principal of the elementary school, confirmed the lockdown was short-lived, a mere 15-minutes, he said in an email to the parents.

"Out of an abundance of caution," the school was locked down while the sheriff's deputies did their work, he said.

There was no threat to the students or the community during the incident, according to the sheriff's department.