A man cut through his arms with saws at a Home Depot in West Covina, shocking employees and customers who saw the grisly scene play out at the busy store, police Wednesday night.

The man calmly walked into the store on Azusa Avenue shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday and grabbed the handsaws, the West Covina Police Department said.


“He just began sawing away,” Cpl. Rudy Lopez told The Times. “He was pretty much intent on doing what he did.”

The man cut both arms down to the bone as 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 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