A man wielding a samurai-style sword killed two people and wounded three others at an Irvine supermarket Sunday before his bloody rampage ended with a fatal volley of police gunfire.
The deadly attack occurred about 9:35 a.m. inside the Albertsons at Culver Drive and Irvine Boulevard, when Joseph Parker, a 30-year-old bagger known for erratic behavior, entered the market where he worked and began slashing employees and customers, witnesses said.
Wearing a green beret and a long, dark coat, the Santa Ana man pulled out a sword with a 3-foot blade and calmly attacked in silence, almost beheading one of his victims. As he roamed the store, employees armed with barbecue utensils, mayonnaise jars and trashcan lids tried to corner him.
"There were trails of blood everywhere. People were running. A lady was screaming," said Javier Ascencio, 38, of Irvine, who was returning a gallon of spoiled milk. "I was yelling for everyone to get out. Things just happened so fast."
Scores of customers, including the wounded, fled from the market in Northwood, an affluent part of one of the state's safest big cities. On Sunday morning, the store and adjacent retail center were filled with shoppers, people walking dogs and boys in baseball uniforms. Forty to 50 people were in the Albertsons.
"It was mass hysteria" outside the store, said Terry Fowler, a nurse who helped staff an impromptu triage center. "Everybody was in shock."
The supermarket "is like my extended family," said Linda Kouri, 65, of Tustin Ranch. "I know everybody, and they know me and my grandson. It is so sad. I just get the chills thinking about what happened here."
Police said two longtime Albertsons employees, Judith Fleming, 55, and John G. Nutting, 60, were killed. Two customers and another employee suffered moderate to serious slash and stab wounds. They were taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where they were scheduled for surgery.
Nutting, who worked five days at a Newport Beach Albertsons and one day a week at the store in Irvine, was about two months from retirement. Co-workers said he had worked in the supermarket business since 1960 and had managed several stores in Orange County.
About 10 minutes after the attack began, Irvine police shot Parker, who was taken to the same hospital as his victims. Doctors pronounced him dead of his wounds.
"The officer was confronted by the suspect, and the officer fired his weapon," said Police Lt. Jeff Love.
