Hammer-Wielding Man Threatens People in Union City Supermarket

UNION CITY, CA — A man "violently wielding a hammer and threatening the lives of people " inside a Union City supermarket has been arrested by Union City Police.

The wild incident happened Sunday evening around 6 p.m. at the Lucky's in Union Landing.

According to police, the man eventually walked out of the store and quick thinking employees locked the doors behind him.

Meanwhile, police had been called and were on the way. Since the suspect's weapon was a hammer, officers armed themselves with a bean-bag launcher, pictured above, which looks like a shotgun but shoots a bean bag device designed to temporarily incapacitate a violent person when time and distance are available.

Police say "the man refused to put down the hammer and instead started advancing toward the officers, who were trying to de-escalate the situation and keep the man from advancing toward innocent bystanders. The man continued his aggression, so from a distance, the officers deployed the bean bag, which caused the man to drop his weapon. They were then able to take him into custody without serious injuries to anyone involved."

The suspect admitted to police that he was trying to hurt people to force the officers to kill him, often called "suicide by cop."

The 21-year-old Union City man, whose name has not been released, was taken to the hospital for a mental evaluation.

Police are pleased with the outcome of the situation, "Our officers did an awesome job thinking through the right approach to this situation, using incredible restraint while maximizing time and distance to do all they could to avoid a lethal confrontation."

Police point out that nine law enforcement officers in California cities and towns have been killed this year, five of whom were killed in October.

And Tuesday night in Des Moines, Iowa, two police officers were executed.

• See: 2 Iowa Police Officers Killed In Ambush Attacks

-Image by Union City Police via Facebook

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