Man with sword comes to neighbor's aid

SALT LAKE CITY, April 24 (UPI) -- A Salt Lake City woman being assaulted by a co-worker was rescued by a group of neighbors, including one wielding a sword.

Police Lt. Justin Hoyal said the 35-year-old woman was leaving her home just after 7 a.m. Tuesday when she was attacked by a 38-year-old man against whom she had obtained a stalking injunction after they ceased to be co-workers, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Wednesday.

Hoyal said the man chased the woman down the street and she attempted to use pepper spray against him but failed.

Police said numerous neighbors came to help the woman, including a man wielding a sword.

Kent Hendrix, 47, a fourth-degree black belt in the martial arts known as Kishindo, said his son woke him and told him a woman was being attacked outside their home.

"I threw on some clothes and grabbed my sword," he said.

Hendrix chased the man and was able to take down the man's license plate number.