Police said they were planning to continue their investigation Thursday of a grisly incident in which a man sawed his arms at a busy Home Depot in West Covina.

The name of the man was not immediately known because he had no identification and was passed out by the time officers had stopped massive bleeding from both of his arms, which were cut to the bone, the West Covina Police Department said.


“He just began sawing away,” Cpl. Rudy Lopez told The Times, saying that the man had calmly grabbed the handsaws.

“He was pretty much intent on doing what he did,” Lopez said. “Nobody noticed him until he started doing what he was doing.”


Panicked people called 911 for help. The man was passing out as officers arrived, police said.

An off-duty Pasadena paramedic was inside the store and helped the officers round up twine and rags, which they used to fashion makeshift tourniquets to stop the heavy flow of blood, Lopez said.


The man was taken to nearby Queen of the Valley Hospital, where he was undergoing surgery. His condition Wednesday night was not immediately known.

Lopez said the store was shut down for the rest of the day.


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Twitter: @LAJourno

robert.lopez@latimes.com