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Cops: Sword-wielding man attacks clerk

Posted at 12:00 PM, Feb 09, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-09 12:52:16-05

***WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO****

(WSVN via CNN NEWSOURCE) A man in a red hat walked into a Lauderhill Shell station Sunday morning, casually stepped into line, and for seemingly no reason, started swinging at a stranger.

"It appears to be a metal pole that you'd use maybe to hang up a shelf in a store sorta thing, and just starts pummeling him around the face and head area," said Lauderhill Police Major Rick Rocco.

Two guys ducked out of the way and it's the woman with the innocent while-haired 82-year-old man who got between them and fought off the attacker.

They watched in disbelief as he just walked out of the gas station.

"Our suspect leaves the store, tries to get into another car, is unsuccessful trying to take that car," Major Rocco said.

While paramedics treated the elderly man who was attacked and bleeding from the head police received a call.

"We get a call from the Swap Shop about a man in the Swap Shop brandishing a sword and attacking one of the clerks at the Swap Shop," said Major Rocco.

Sure enough, the same guy, police said, was frantically, violently swinging a sword at a clerk -- chasing him around the store, trying to slice at him over and over again with a sword from the store's display -- even as the clerk repeatedly tried to fight him off.

"When they (police) get there, several bystanders and store clerks had pinned this guy down," Major Rocco said.

To make it even stranger, police said Javan Walker, the pole-wielding, sword-stealing attacker, had just seen the movie Poltergeist.

"We don't know if this individual was on some kind of synthetic drug or if he was just having some kind of mental breakdown,” Major Rocco said.

Either way, the 22-year-old is now in jail and he is in jail facing several felony charges, including attempted murder.

Police said he was also driving a stolen car.