A nasty argument between two tree-trimming co-workers led one to threaten the other with a chainsaw at a Lakeville residence, FOX 9 reported.

Police say Jason Warren Schultz, 34, of Little Falls, Minnesota, has been charged with second-degree assault in the June 4 incident in the 16700 block of Jalisco Terrace.

Schultz and a co-worker were arguing loudly the whole day as they removed a dead tree from a yard, neighbor Cara Lee told FOX. At one point, Schultz yelled racial slurs at the other man, Lee said. Schultz is accused of then grabbing a chainsaw, firing it up and approaching the man, yelling, “I’m going to kill you!”

That led to a surreal duel, with the co-worker trying to defend himself with a shovel, Lee said.

"He's holding the shovel like a baseball bat and all you hear is the chainsaw going 'ping' off the shovel the whole time," Lee told FOX. "I'm just standing there like, 'Wow, this is not really happening right now.'"

Workplace spats have led to some bizarre and even deadly confrontations in recent months.

In March, the former Dilworth, Minnesota, fire chief struck a plea deal with prosecutors after being accused of threatening former co-workers. Court documents said he threatened to burn down their homes.

In February, a St. Paul man fatally stabbed a co-worker at Bailey Nurseries in Newport.

And in Los Angeles this spring, a construction worker was charged of fatally attacking a co-worker with a hammer.