In the middle of the night, a US Army Special Operations unit was attacked by a man dressed in full ninja garb in the desert north of Los Angeles, California. The attacker injured at least two people. The Ridgecrest Police Department learned shortly after 1 am on 18 September that a man, dressed as a ninja, was wielding a sword at Inyokern Airport in Kern County.
‘The suspect had assaulted a victim at the scene with a sword, and thrown a rock through a hangar window, hitting an additional victim in the head,’ Kern County Sheriff’s officials reported. According to Stars and Stripes, both victims were members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR). During the exercise, the troops were at the airport. The incident report stated that a staff sergeant was smoking a cigarette at the airport when ‘an unknown person in full ninja garb’ approached him.
‘Do you know who I am?’ he asked, according to the report. The sergeant claimed he was unfamiliar with the ninja-like man. ‘Do you know where my family is?’ he asked, causing the sergeant once again to say he didn’t know. At this time, ‘the person in ninja garb began to slash’ at the sergeant using a katana sword, ‘striking his phone and his knee and leg’. Eventually, the sergeant made his way back to a building where other service members were present after running and jumping over a fence. The sergeant and captain locked all the doors and call 911 as the ninja-dressed man thumped on the doors and kicked the windows.
The Ridgecrest Police Department reported a man dressed in ninja apparel was reported at 1:19 am and at least one person was hurt. Another call came in at 1:43 am saying 26 special operations members were ‘hunkered down in a hangar wondering where help is. The man was found in ninja gear near the hangar on a road. According to the sheriff’s office, he ‘refused to follow orders and brandished the sword at deputies.’
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The projectile rounds used by the deputies were ineffective. Several officers tasered him, causing him to drop the sword, as a result of which he was taken into custody. He was identified as Gino Rivera, 35. He was also arrested for obstructing or delaying an officer and attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, brandishing a weapon and resisting arrest, according to the sheriff’s office. It was reported that both the captain and the sergeant required stitches, but that they were able to return to work.
The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment’s mission is to transport Navy SEAL teams and others using helicopters. Many of their missions are conducted under the cover of darkness, so they train at night. The troops north of LA were part of the regiment’s second battalion, which is based at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
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