Shades of Indiana Jones: New York liquor store owner foils sword-wielding maniac with his handgun

The owner of a liquor store on Long Island certainly wasn't expecting anything like this to happen when he went to work last Thursday, but police say that just after 2 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, he found himself face-to-face with a maniac in his store who was wielding a samurai sword and swinging it around.

Then, according to WLNY-TV, the sword-wielding customer turned and confronted the store owner, whereupon the owner pulled out his legally-owned handgun and fatally shot the would-be samurai.

Police have identified the man who was swinging the sword as 50-year-old Theodore Scoville. They were not able, as of yet, to pinpoint Scoville's motive for bringing the sword into the store or threatening the owner.

According to WABC-TV, multiple witnesses told police that Scoville entered the store with the sword under his poncho, then brought it out "without a word" and then began swinging it, "at least three times — at a very close distance to the person behind the counter." Police do not believe the incident was an attempted robbery because there is no evidence that Scoville ever attempted to obtain anything from the store.

Police also told WABC that since the firearm used by the store owner was legally owned, and since multiple witnesses confirmed the store owner's account of self-defense, they do not anticipate charging the store owner with anything. The investigation into Scoville's possible motivations remains ongoing.