(NECN/NBC: Devon Dolan) - Utah police
say a man with a samurai sword along with several other neighbors helped chase
away an assailant who attacked a woman he had apparently been stalking.
"She was screaming 'Leave me alone! Leave me alone! Call 9-1-1! Call
9-1-1,'" said Nancy, who didn’t give a last name.
"I looked out my front window and saw her getting up," said neighbor
Eric Hendrix.
"She just took after him with a bat and whacked him a good one,” said
Nancy
"I, uh, ran and grabbed my dad," said Eric Hendrix.
As neighbors tried to fight off the man, Eric Hendrix’s dad, an LDS bishop, did
what most people would never think of.
"So I threw some clothes on and as I was coming out of my room, I grabbed
my sword," said Kent Hendrix.
It wasn’t just any sword, it was a samurai sword.
"That's what I keep by my bed," said Kent.
Kent ran shoeless across the street.
"He was trying to get through this gate and as he came through the gate,
that's when I drew on him, like this, and told him to get down on the ground,"
said Kent.
The suspect then jumped into nearby ivy and started running, and so did
Hendrix.
"Chased him down the street and around the corner to his car with a
Samurai sword," said Nancy.
"I just yelled at him, ‘I got your DNA. I got your license plate. You are
so done,’" said Hendrix.
The suspect, 37-year-old Grant Eggertsen got away, but not without going into
absolute shock.
"Just to see the culprit's reaction on his face was priceless really, just
the best look of surprise you've ever seen," said Eric.
Hendrix’s Samurai sword is 29 inches of high carbon steel
and Kent knows how to use it. He's a fourth degree black belt.
"I teach martial arts for 20 years,” said Hendrix.
"Don't mess with this neighborhood."