This man is disturbed. Drop it. Drop it.
[Applause]
Hey, you got to get chased. You got to
get chased.
When a man wielding a chainsaw storms a
retirement home in St. Charles,
Illinois, he turns a peaceful haven for
the elderly into a scene of absolute
terror. As local police attempt to put a
stop to his rampage, officers are forced
into a life ordeath confrontation when
they become his next targets. The
following is based on official police
records. On the early morning of
December 1st, 2024, 911 receives a call
from a man with an unusual concern. Hi,
I'm calling to report a guy who is not
right in the head. He's got a chainsaw
cutting down a really big tree. Does it
look like he's part of like a
landscaping crew or anything? No, no,
no, no, no. This This man is disturbed
now. He's walking away from the tree.
He's walking towards River Glenn. Okay.
So, he he was holding a chainsaw and
cutting down a tree. Yeah, he's appears
to be having some sort of mental
episode. He just took off his shirt.
Does it appear that he's under the
influence of anything? I would say he's
he's having some sort of problem. Uh oh,
he's opening the front door of the
place. God, I hope that place is locked.
An officer quickly arrives at River
Glenn of St. Charles, a senior
retirement and assisted living facility.
When he tries the front door, however,
he finds it locked.
Hey, what's going on with this this guy?
I don't know. He came in here. Hey, can
you hold this door open? More police are
coming. As he searches the hallway for
the suspect, another 911 call reaches
dispatchers from a staff member hiding
somewhere nearby. 911.
Hi. We were going to St. Charles.
There's a strange man on the building.
Ma'am, are the police inside with him?
Yeah. Uh, there's one officer. There's
one officer. Hey. Hey. Hey. Drop the
taser. Drop the taser. Or drop the drop
it. Drop it. Drop it. Drop it. On the
ground. On the ground. On the ground.
Get back. Get back. Get back. Get back.
Hey. Drop.
Hey.
Hey.
step. Hey, drop the chainsaw. Drop the
chainsaw. What a taser point. The
suspect would later be identified as
41-year-old Daniel Escalera. Despite
repeated commands, it appears he has no
intention of surrendering. Oh my god.
Hey, drop it. Drop it. Drop it. Drop it.
I got one taser point. Step it up.
We'll be in the front lobby. Drop the
Drop it. Drop
it in the front
lobby. You want to leave? Yes. Step it
up. Here my lady. Where is she? Step it
up.
Where's my Drop it? I just want my wife,
man. I just
[Applause]
want Hey.
Hey, where is he? Right here. He's right
here. He's right here.
Get him out. Come here, guys. Upstairs.
Upstairs.
You got to get tased. You got to get
tased.
[Music]
The officers fire and miss several times
before a final shot from officer Hiky
hits Daniel's chest, sending him to the
[Music]
ground.
Got it.
Come on.
Watch out. Move your
Sorry. Okay. All
right. All right. See if you're good.
You're good. Hey. Hey. Get out of here.
Come on. Come here. Come here. Come
here. Come here. I got you.
Go help.
I think I'm okay. Hang on. Hang on. Are
you guys okay? Yeah, we're good. Yeah,
we're good.
I got a med pack in my bag. Okay. He got
shot. Yeah. I got a Michelle just put a
hand wound from the chainsaw from the
That's all. Okay. All right. Yeah,
you're still helpful. Stay there. Stay
in your room,
Parker. I I'm sorry. I can't help. It's
okay. It's okay. You're good. You're
good. You're good, Steve. You're good.
He's an officer. Yes. Yes.
I did. Okay. I shot him for you. All
right. He had the chainsaw. He's welding
all the way up
at the side.
Take a closer look.
Yeah, you still got Meanwhile, Officer
Hiky is checked for injuries given he
collided with the suspect while he still
carried the chainsaw. I want you to go
to your house, please. You ran into me.
I put the chainsaw here, but I I cut it
for you. You know,
I want you to turn your walker
around. Attention all staff. The
facility is locked down. Nobody in,
nobody
out. Keep the residents in your room.
Cleared of any injuries, officer Hikey
fills in his sergeant on what happened.
There's people all around. Old people
all around. He's got this chainsaw. Now
again, it's not running. I don't give
He's got a chainsaw. He's crazy. And
this thing, he hit me with it. He cut
this guy with it. So, he's around these
people and I shot him. Okay.
Okay. Take a seat. We're going to get
I'm going to get a medic with you guys.
You're going to get a medic. We're going
to have you go to the hospital. Okay.
Yeah. Dom. I'm going to have you stay
with him. Okay. Just stay by with Steve.
I I just didn't want him attacking and
hurting anyone else here. Cor I'm I'm
done. Thankfully, no one else appears to
have been caught in the crossfire. And
the injury to the elderly man's hand is
tended to by paramedics. Staff members
attempt to escort elderly residents to
their rooms as officers work to secure
the scene. Hey, ma'am. Ma'am. Ma'am.
Ma'am. Ma'am. Ma'am. Ma'am. Ma'am, stop
right there. Stop right there.
Ma'am. Okay. Go that way. Appreciate
that. Okay.
41-year-old Daniel Escalera was
transported to Delnor Hospital where he
was pronounced dead shortly upon his
arrival at 9:37 a.m. His autopsy
revealed two gunshot wounds, one to his
left lateral chest and one to his
forearm. Toxicology reports indicated
the presence of methampetamine and other
substances in his system. It's unknown
whether Daniel knew anyone at the
retirement home or who he was earlier
referring to as his lady. An
investigation into the officer involved
shooting was conducted by the Illinois
State Police who examined officer Hiki's
bodywn camera. In the video, they noted
that when Daniel turned in the hallway,
he held his hands forward in a position
which appeared to imitate holding a
firearm. The Kain County State's
Attorney's Office concluded that officer
Hiky had the reasonable belief that the
deadly force he employed was necessary,
and there's no evidence or indication
that any police officer committed any
unlawful acts.