Seattle police arrest machete-wielding man after he flees women's restroom in park

SEATTLE -- A man wielding a two-foot machete and a throwing knife threatened people who confronted him for using a women's restroom in a Capitol Hill park and then tried to flee in a car, police said Friday.

But the suspect got stuck in heavy traffic on Broadway, and officers were able to arrest the 56-year-old man and booked him into the King County Jail for investigation of assault.

Police said officers were called to Cal Anderson Park just before 5 p.m. Thursday and spoke to six people who said they had confronted the man after spotting him in the women's restroom.

During the confrontation, they said, the suspect pulled out a two-foot machete, swung it around and shouted death threats. The man also pulled out a knife and acted as if he was going to hurl it at them, witnesses told police.

After the suspect fled and got stuck in heavy traffic on Broadway, police were able to arrest him.

Police said they recovered the machete and knife and asked him why he was armed with those weapons.

Police said he replied that he is a "trained killer" and that he was using the women's restroom because the men's room was full and he had an "explosive" bowel issue.

He was then taken to jail.