Danville man arrested after alleged rampage

A 64-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide after he roamed around a neighborhood near Danville, threatening residents with a gun before they fought back and hit him on the head with a water pitcher, police said.

Deputies arrested Harry Alexander for attempted homicide, domestic violence, burglary, criminal threats, battery and brandishing a firearm following the Thursday afternoon incident, said Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jimmy Lee.

Deputy sheriffs arrived at Alexander’s home on the 2400 block of Marsanne Street in unincorporated Contra Costa County around 3 p.m., following reports of “an unknown man with a gun in the garage.”

Alexander reportedly wielded a gun at the residents and “battered” one of them before he left, Lee said. Right afterward, he drove to the 1400 block of Menton Street, where he forced his way inside a home and continued threatening people with his gun.

Two men inside grabbed him while a third person hit him on the head with a water pitcher. During the struggle, Alexander fired his gun as he tried to shoot one of the men, Lee said.

The round barely missed one man, and the residents were eventually able to take the gun from Alexander and keep him restrained while awaiting deputies.

Alexander was booked into Martinez Detention Facility after receiving medical treatment at a local hospital. He is being held on $1,210,000 bail.