Suspected DUI driver armed with ax arrested after chase, slamming into mall

WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — A 32-year-old man armed with an ax and suspected of driving under the influence was arrested after a 9-mile chase that ended with him slamming into some doors and breaking into Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham on Saturday night, police said.

Bellingham police said the ordeal started at about 10:30 p.m. when a Washington State Patrol trooper requested help from police officers in stopping a person in a Ford Ranger who was driving erratically and suspected of DUI.

The driver of the small pickup had refused to stop in the 1300 block of West Bakerview Road, which is where Bellingham officers started to help, authorities said.

Police said the driver kept going east on the road and toward Northwest Drive before making a U-turn, heading back east on West Bakerview Road.

The driver ran red lights and led officers through the streets of the City Hall complex.

Police said an officer was positioned at Cornwall Avenue near East Campion Street. That is where the driver slowed down, swung an ax out of the window and attempted to hit the officer, who was seated in their patrol vehicle. Police said the man struck the officer’s patrol vehicle several times and then drove off, going north on Cornwall.

The driver then made a quick U-turn, drove into the path of more officers and swung the ax out of the window at them, law enforcement officials said.

Police said the man drove to York Street, where an officer was putting down spike strips and the man narrowly missed hitting the officer.

The man fled to Lakeway Driver, where he struck another driver, causing damage to their car, authorities said.

The man fled onto north Interstate 5 and eventually got off at the Bellis Fair Mall exit.

He drove into the mall parking lot and then slammed into the front doors of the mall’s food court, where he got out, smashed the glass doors with the ax, ran inside, and then began smashing more glass doors and windows to several stores, restaurants and other businesses inside, police said.

Officers at the scene gave commands for the man to drop the ax as he continued his “rampage,” but he refused, police said.

Authorities said officers used several options of less-lethal force -- including flexible batons, chemical irritants and a Taser -- to try to stop the man, but it wasn’t until he dropped the ax that they were able to arrest him.

After they took him outside for medical treatment, the man kicked a gurney and knocked it into a firefighter, police said.

The gurney struck the firefighter in the knee and knocked him back.

Police said the suspect was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for minor injures and suspected substance abuse.

The man will be booked into the Whatcom County Jail on several charges, including first-degree burglary and three counts of first-degree assault, once he is medically cleared, police said.

The Bellingham Police Department said he caused damage to more than 11 stores, businesses and restaurants in the mall. Police have estimated the damage at $100,000 for the mall alone.

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