Suspect who intended to 'kill a police officer' arrested at Oakland Airport

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A man is now in custody after deputies say he showed up to Oakland International Airport on Sunday with a knife, planning to stab an officer and wanted to be shot and killed by authorities.

Pacing back and forth and peeking inside two deputy vehicles at 8:45 am, the suspect, 27-year-old Fabian Roca Ruiz had one goal in mind, according to officials, to "kill a police officer."

"He spontaneously explained to the deputies that he arrived at the airport with the specific intention of stabbing a police officer and then he intended on killing one of us," said Alameda County Sheriff's office spokesperson Ray Kelly.

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One of Oakland Airport's surveillance video personnel found the man suspicious and contacted deputies who were patrolling inside the building. A woman deputy approached Ruiz who was walking on the sidewalk of terminal 1.

"She was able to get the man to come towards her. He initially dropped the knife and put it on the ground," said Kelly.

After a minute of talking with the deputy, Ruiz changed his mind and picked up his golden knife. At that moment this deputy called for backup.

"At that point, they used a strategic approach to approach the man from all sides so we could triangulate on him. Keep the public safe, keep the motoring public coming in. They de-escalated the situation and got the man to drop his knife," said Kelly.

Michael Fikeras works in the IT department at Oakland Airport, he says the police presence is strong inside and outside of the building.

"I'm pretty glad that no one got hurt. It could have been a lot worse," said Fikeras.

The Alameda Sheriff Department is commending the "by the book" de-escalation techniques used in this incident to the deputies involved.

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"Another concern was that he intended to have law enforcement shoot him or kill him as well, so that is something that we need to look at," said Kelly.

According to officials, the suspect is known to Oakland Police and also confessed to wanting to hurt airport patrons.

Ruiz was placed under arrest for several charges, including brandishing a weapon and criminal threats.