Officials say deputies forced entry to a home and tackled a man who was threatening to kill people while armed with a knife, including an elderly woman who was found lying on the floor, in Beach Park.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call around 4:25 p.m. Monday from a residence in the 38600 block of North Lewis Avenue in Beach Park for a report of a person armed with a knife threatening people.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said dispatchers were able to obtain crucial information that the man out of control, Keith MacDonald, 33, who lives at the home, armed himself with a knife.
MacDonald told everyone inside they were “going to die,” which was relayed to responding sheriff’s deputies, Covelli said.
Deputies arrived and looked inside a window of the residence. They saw MacDonald standing over an elderly woman, who was lying on the floor.
Prosecutors said MacDonald, who had pushed the 82-year-old woman to the floor, would not let deputies into the home.
“Not knowing if MacDonald was still armed with a knife and believing the elderly woman was at immediate risk, the sheriff’s deputies forced entry through the locked front door, and tackled MacDonald to the ground, successfully taking him into custody,” Covelli said.
MacDonald resisted arrest by kicking and elbowing the deputies, prosecutors said.
Deputies learned MacDonald became enraged after learning he was going to be evicted from the home by his family.
Covelli said MacDonald grabbed hold of a knife from the kitchen and began chasing a woman, who was holding a baby, around the home while saying he was going to kill her.
Prosecutors said that before the incident, MacDonald arrived at the home in an Uber and punched the Uber driver.
“Once again, our staff—from the emergency telecommunicators who handled the frantic 911 call to the deputies who responded to the scene—acted swiftly and courageously to prevent harm or something far worse,” Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg said.
“I am truly proud of our team, who put others before themselves every day to keep our community safe,” Idleburg said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and approved charges of aggravated battery to a person over 60, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and child endangerment.
The state’s attorney’s office filed a petition to detain MacDonald while awaiting trial.
MacDonald remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing on Wednesday afternoon.