‘Unbelievable’: 18-year-old car wash employee credited with stopping ax-wielding man

OCALA, Fla. (Gray News) — An 18-year-old employee at a car wash in Florida is being credited with taking down a man armed with an ax.

Car Wash Image

According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the incident happened Sunday evening at the Tidal Wave Auto Spa in Ocala.

When deputies arrived, they found 36-year-old Bryce Thayer being held down by the employee.

Investigators found that Thayer had approached two employees at the car wash as they were closing.

The employees told Thayer to leave, and then Thayer reportedly became “irate” and approached the two workers “in a threatening manner while wielding an ax,” the sheriff’s office said.

Surveillance video from the car wash shows the 18-year-old employee lunging at Thayer to disarm him. The employee is seen tackling Thayer to the ground.

The second employee was able to remove the ax from Thayer’s grip, the video shows. The 18-year-old restrained Thayer until deputies arrived.

Thayer was arrested on aggravated assault charges and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he remains on an $11,000 bond.

The sheriff’s office said Thayer was also in possession of drug paraphernalia.

Facebook commenters commended the employees for their actions.

“Dude definitely has a little training. Great job on the leg sweep, the takedown, and going straight into a full mount while trapping his legs. Solid control in a dangerous situation,” one person wrote.

“Unbelievable……young man took courage to do what he did!” another wrote.

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