A gun-wielding man walked into an MMA gym. He didn’t get very far.
An armed man entered a mixed martial arts studio in Burbank, California, Tuesday night with a gun, police say. He left without the weapon, bleeding profusely after an instructor subdued him.
The man, who has not been identified, was not in police custody as of late Wednesday morning — because he was still in the hospital, according to the Burbank Leader.
KTTV reported that the man was a robbery suspect who allegedly entered Defiant MMA & Fitness studio around 9 p.m. Tuesday while a class was in session. He then pulled a gun out from a duffel bag, witnesses say, before the instructor, identified as amateur MMA fighter Jacobe Powell by KTTV, stepped forward.
“My instincts kicked in. I used my judo training to subdue him. I got the weapon away from him before the cops arrived,” Powell said. “One of my guys who was training called the police, and I just subdued him until the police showed up.”
A police spokesperson confirmed to the Burbank Leader that a loaded handgun was recovered at the scene. He did not say, however, why the suspect may have entered the gym in the first place.
KTTV captured footage of the suspect being led out of the studio by police. In it, blood covers the man’s face. It is not clear if he suffered what exact injuried he sustained.
Police told the Burbank Leader that the suspect will be charged with at least assault with a deadly weapon and potentially more once more details are known.
According to Sherdog.com, Powell has a 3-6 record as an amateur fighter dating back to 2013.
Powell is not the first athlete this month to be the victim of a crime that ended up going worse for the perpetrator. On Aug. 11, a young man allegedly tried to carjack three amateur football players in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but the players succeeded in punching and restraining the would-be criminal. The mugshot of the suspect’s beaten and swollen face went viral.
This story was originally published August 31, 2017 at 3:34 PM with the headline "A gun-wielding man walked into an MMA gym. He didn’t get very far.."