Suspect Sought In Car Break-Ins, Attempted Stabbing In Fayette Co.
SOUTH UNION TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- State police in Fayette County are investigating after a ninja costume-wearing suspect accused in several vehicle break-ins reportedly attempted to stab a man with a sword over the weekend.
The incident happened between midnight and 1:05 a.m. along Braddock Avenue in South Union Township.
According to Pennsylvania State Police, residents called authorities after spotting a man dressed in dark clothing and a dark mask breaking into a vehicle in the 500-block of Braddock Avenue.
A neighbor's home security video camera captured nighttime images of a shadowy figure hiding in a yard.
"I saw a person. All I knew is that it was someone who had a long object in their hands, and as soon as I saw him, the car alarm went off," said Jennifer Barry, a neighbor.
"He was in a ninja costume," added Chelsey Cuttingham, another neighbor. "He had the ninja… the only thing you saw was his eyes. He had like the sword to pull out behind him. A ninja."
He cut himself on some glass after breaking into one car and left blood stains behind.
Investigators say before police arrived at the scene, another neighbor, identified as Santino Guzzo, went out in his vehicle to check the area. He reportedly saw the suspect hiding in a yard on Elm Street and confronted him.
State police say Guzzo reported that the suspect then attempted to stab him with a sword while he sat in his car.
"As he was lying flat on the ground, I told him to freeze," said Guzzo. "Whenever he jumped up, he goes, 'I have a sword.' I told him, 'I have a gun.' He stuck the knife through the window and tried to hit me in the chest with it."
Somehow, Guzzo said he managed to get a hand on the dull blade, and then grabbed his gun when the man pulled the blade out of the window. No shots were fired.
Officials say the suspect broke the rear window on Guzzo's vehicle and ran away. There was chase between the two men, but officials say it ended shortly after it began.
"You're going to get caught," added Guzzo. "We have your blood; we have your fingerprints. You were a dumb criminal."
Authorities report that a total of 11 vehicles were broken into in the area.
Meanwhile, neighbors are just happy no one was hurt, but they remain on alert hoping police capture the so-called "ninja vandal" before someone gets seriously injured.
Anyone with information is being asked to contact state police in Uniontown at 724-439-7111.
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