A man stole a 63-ton military tank from a National Guard armory here and used it to rampage through neighborhoods, flattening utility poles, fire hydrants and cars before getting stuck on a road divider. Police officers fatally shot the man as he tried to get the tank moving.

No bystanders were injured in the event on Wednesday evening. The tank's weapons -- a 105-millimeter cannon, a 12.7-millimeter antiaircraft gun and a 7.62-millimeter machine gun -- were not loaded, said Maj. Ed Gale of the California National Guard.

The driver was identified as Shawn Nelson, an unemployed plumber who had served in the military; he was believed to be in his mid-30's. The police said they had shot Mr. Nelson because they feared that if he got the tank moving again traffic would be endangered.

"The guy was just going crazy," said Kelly Bird, who said he saw at least 25 cars flattened. "He was mowing cars over."