A Winter Springs, Fla., man was arrested this week after he allegedly held a knife at a child who was riding his bike on the sidewalk instead of in the bike lane, police said.
FOX 35 in Orlando reports that 73-year-old Richard Shafer has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Schaefer told police that he became upset because the boy wasn’t riding in the bike lane and pointed the knife at him because he feared his life was in danger.
Schaefer also said the boy was riding his bike “at me,” the complaint said.
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Richard Shafer is accused of holding a knife to a child who was riding his bike on the sidewalk instead of in a bike lane in Winter Springs, Florida. (Winter Springs Police Department)
The Winter Springs Police Department responded to a disturbance call near Winter Springs Boulevard and Tuskawilla Road Monday afternoon.
Dispatchers told police they received a report of a man holding a knife at a child.
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When police arrived, they spoke to the child victim, who said he was stopped by a man (later identified as Shafer) who was riding his bicycle home.
When Schaefer stopped the boy, he told police the boy was riding on the sidewalk instead of in the bike lane, so he pulled out a military-style knife and pointed it at the boy.
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Police said the boy appeared frightened. According to FOX 35, the man told police he apologized to Schaefer before riding his bike home.
Officers located Schaefer and arrested him. Police said Shafer was suspected of possessing a knife that matched the knife described by the child. Schaefer also had a gun in his possession at the time of his arrest.
