Man Seeking 'Suicide-By-Cop' Arrested After Threatening Deputies At Oakland Airport

OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A suspect who was seeking to commit suicide by provoking a police officer at the Oakland International Airport was arrested on Sunday afternoon, according to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.

At around 8:45 a.m., a man approached sheriff vehicles wielding a golden folding knife. The vehicles were empty as deputies were patrolling the terminal on foot, but the man was looking inside the windows of the vehicles. Police said he was "looking for a deputy."

The suspect is 27-year-old Fabian Roca-Ruiz.

After deputies were alerted to Ruiz and saw him with the weapon, they confronted him, leading to him dropping the knife. But after dropping the weapon, he became "uncooperative" and picked it back up, officials said.

Again armed with the knife, Ruiz began to walk toward a female deputy, who had her firearm brandished from a safe distance. Ruiz then turned around and began walking toward the patrol cars.

More deputies came to the scene and, after several tense moments, were able to calm the situation and get the suspect into custody without any further trouble. The whole incident only lasted about three and a half minutes, according to Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.

Kelly said Ruiz's apparent motive was to commit "suicide-by-cop;" he wanted to threaten an officer with the knife, hoping hope that the officer would return fire and ultimately take his life.

"We believe, based on what he told us, that during those moments he was looking for a cop sitting in their cars to confront them or stab them in hopes of getting killed. Had a cop been in the car with window open, this would be a very different story," he said.

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