Man harasses pedestrians with walking stick

A Bloomington man tried to use a long walking stick as a weapon Sunday afternoon, according to a Bloomington Police Department report.  

David Runyun, 47, faces preliminary charges of intimidation and attempted battery with a weapon.  

Police were dispatched at 2:33 p.m. Sunday to the 3700 block of West Third Street on reports of a man threatening two women and a man with his walking stick. The women and man told BPD officer Anthony Fosnaugh they were walking between Kroger and Kentucky Fried Chicken when Runyun approached them and called them “satanic baby killers,” “bitches” and “whores,” BPD Sgt. Jeff Canada said, reading from a police report.

The women and man said they did not know Runyun or why he was calling them these names.

The three began to walk away from Runyun when they told police he started to swing his stick at one woman’s head but missed, Canada said. Runyun swung his stick again at the woman’s head, missing again, and then the male in the group got between Runyun and the female in an attempt to stop the disagreement, Canada said.

Runyun left and went inside Kroger at 500 S. Liberty Dr. When police went inside Kroger, Runyun was walking around with his walking stick tucked inside his backpack, Canada said.

Runyun told police he didn’t know what the three people were talking about, but he admitted to calling them “baby killers.”