LOVELAND, Colo. — The Loveland Police Department is searching for a “really dirty” knife-wielding man who it says walked into the garage of a home and verbally assaulted a woman only to run off after the woman pulled out a machete.
The incident happened about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 800 block of West 30th Street.
Bria Wuest said she was unloading rocks from her SUV when she noticed a man standing next to her house Tuesday afternoon.
“I had a little uneasy feeling when I saw him,” Wuest said.
She kept working and the man disappeared, but he came back minutes later while she cleaned her garage in the 800 block of West 30th Street.
“He came into my garage and pulled a 6-inch tarnished, dirty knife and said, ‘If you do what I say, you won’t get hurt,’” she said. “The only thing I was thinking was my daughters getting off the bus in five minutes.”
Wuest didn’t hesitate and took action.
“I just kind of grabbed the machete and said ‘I’ll hurt you worse,’” Wuest said. “He was a little wide-eyed. He was a little shocked that I did that.”
The man quickly ran off.
Police described the suspect as “a really dirty” white male in his late 20s, 5-foot-10 and thinly built. He was wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and white shoes.
“I’m not going to be one of those people that are going to be scared and keep bunkered in my house,” she said.
Now, she was giving advice to others.
“If something looks off, just trust your gut and be safe,” Wuest said.
She also wants to focus on taking care of her children, including her 16-year-old daughter Madison who has brain and spinal cancer.
“I knew if I was in a situation where a man or anybody tried to harm me or my family, I wouldn`t go down without a fight.”
Police believe it was an isolated incident. Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Pat Musselman at 970-962-2032.