A Salt Lake City man attacked another man with a power saw Tuesday night, according to police, after an argument over a dog leash.
The victim told police that he and two female friends were walking his dog at about 11 p.m. near 300 East and 200 South when a 32-year-old man approached them, according to a probable cause statement. Police said the suspect “somehow got entangled with the dog leash,” and began arguing with the three dog walkers.
The victim told police the suspect “walked into the leash.” When he told the suspect to untangle himself, the suspect turned on a cordless power reciprocating saw, pointed it at all three victims and then began trying to cut the dog leash with it. The victims told police the suspect hit the dog owner in the forehead with the saw blade, causing a small laceration. The victim was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.
Police originally identified the dog owner as a woman and later issued a clarification.
The suspect returned to his nearby home, according to police, grabbed a metal pipe and broke out the window of a vehicle where one of the female victims was hiding. When officers arrived, the suspect returned to his home and refused to come out. SLCPD’s SWAT and hostage negotiation teams were called out.
At about 2 a.m. Wednesday, SWAT officers “breached the door, and peacefully took the suspect into custody,” said SLCPD spokeswoman Marie Stewart. He was booked into the Salt Lake County jail and released on several conditions — including a weekly automated phone check-in and avoiding contact with the victims — pending formal charges.
