STANWOOD, Wash. --
Police were called to a Stanwood business in the middle of the night Friday to find a man using an excavator in a destructive rampage, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.
Neighbors who live near Forest Land Services called 911 around 3 a.m. to report unusual construction noise on Pioneer Highway.
"When deputies arrived they found an excavator that was basically destroying everything in its path," said Stanwood Police Chief Ty Trenary.
Trenary said the man damaged a construction trailer, several water tanks and used the equipment to rip the roof off another excavator.
Police said the man who broke into the machine appeared to know how to use it.
After a lengthy standoff with officers, the man flipped the excavator into a ditch.
Police and firefighters then had to rescue the man from the muddy hole. He was taken to an Everett hospital with minor injuries.
Since the incident, several cranes have been working to try to lift the excavator out of the hole.
Trenary said there is no evidence of eco-terrorism and it appeared the man randomly targeted the business.
"The company has not had any employee issues or layoffs in quite some time, and there's no evidence at this point that the suspect knows the owners," said Trenary.
Police said the man will be booked into jail following his release from the hospital.
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