A sword wielding man in “full ninja garb” launched a surprise nighttime attack on an Army Special Operations unit in California — injuring two soldiers before he was finally arrested, officials said.
The bizarre ambush took place just after 1 a.m. on Sept. 18 at the Inyokern Airport in Kern County, north of Los Angeles, Army Special Operations Aviation Command spokesman Maj. Jeff Slinker confirmed to Stars and Stripes.
An officer out for a late-night cigarette was approached by “an unknown person wearing full ninja garb” wielding a katana, according to an incident report first posted on social media.
“Do you know who I am?” the so-called ninja asked the staff sergeant, who replied that he did not, the document states.
“Do you know where my family is?,” the man then asked the sergeant, who again answered no.
The “ninja” then slashed the officer with his sword, hitting his knee and legs and striking his phone, according to the report.
The sergeant fled across the parking lot trying to evade the attacker, barricading himself inside of the administration building, where he and a captain locked all the doors and called 911 for help, the document states.
But the assailant began punching and kicking at the doors and windows and threw a large piece of asphalt through the window, hitting and injuring the captain, before fleeing.
When he was found, the “ninja,” identified by police as 35-year-old Gino Rivera, flashed his weapon at law enforcement officers, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.
Cops from the Ridgefield Police Department fired non-lethal rounds at Rivera, but proved ineffective as he continued to run. Officers caught up to Rivera and tased him, at which point he dropped the sword and was taken into custody.
Rivera was booked into the Central Receiving Facility on a slew of charges including attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon and brandishing a weapon.
The two injured military personnel were transported to local hospitals for their injuries, police said. Both have been cleared to return to service duty.
The soldiers were with F Co., 2nd Battalion, 160th SOAR, and participating in training exercises at the airport with other military personnel.