Anaheim Man Injured, Arrested After Road Grader Chase : Bullets End Rampage at Chino Airport

An Anaheim man drove a road grader through the Chino Airport on Tuesday, striking three small planes and forcing ground crews to scatter for safety before he was wounded by deputies’ gunfire, a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said.

The suspect, identified as Randy LaComb, 37, was airlifted to San Bernardino County Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition with multiple gunshot wounds below the waist, according to sheriff’s spokesman Jim Bryant.

LaComb faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder, Bryant said. Charges related to the theft of construction equipment are also pending, he said.

The incident began about 9:30 a.m. after LaComb, a construction worker, took a yellow road grader from a construction site in Chino Hills, Bryant said.

The suspect drove the machine about 6 miles to the airport, forcing cars and bicyclists off the road along the way, Bryant said.

The Sheriff’s Department received a complaint about 9:40 a.m. that someone was operating a road grader in an erratic manner. Officers began chasing the grader as it approached the airport but were unable to stop it before it entered the airport grounds.

During a five-minute rampage at the airport, LaComb reportedly struck three small planes and narrowly missed several people on the ground. The chase ended when the grader’s front end jammed into a hangar owned by Flight Craft, a business that gives flight lessons and refuels planes at the airport.

The grader ended up less than 50 feet from the fuel tanks, Bryant said. Officers opened fire on the man when he tried to drive away from the hangar.

No other serious injuries were reported, Bryant said.

“He was within 50 feet of having hundreds of people hurt or killed,” Bryant said. “He was right near a fuel tank, all he had to do was open one of those fuel tanks. Aviation fuel, when it goes, it goes.”

Authorities said they have not been able to talk to LaComb, so they have not determined what triggered the incident. Bryant said LaComb is believed to work for the construction company that owns the grader.

“He may have been a legal operator of the earthmover at the construction site, but once he left the grounds, it was no longer legal,” Bryant said.