Man living in tent attacks Elyria couple with Kantana sword, police say

ELYRIA, Ohio - Two people in Elyria were injured when a man with a sword attacked them during an argument late Thursday night, police said.

The strange incident happened just after 11 p.m. at an apartment on Chestnut Street, where the two victims were watching TV with a friend. That’s when a man came into the apartment with a sword. The suspect’s name and age were redacted from the police report, but it did note he lives in a tent in the backyard.

The man got into an argument over money with 23-year-old Chris Metelsky, the police report said. Toni Metelsky, 20, stood up to defend Chris, but that only angered the man with the sword.

The police report said the man unsheathed a Kantana sword, which are commonly called samurai swords, and slashed Toni Metelsky twice on her left shoulder as she tried to turn away from the attack. Chris Metelsky tried to disarm him, but suffered a three to four-inch gash on the top of his head, police said. He was also cut on his shoulder blade.

When Elyria officers arrived, Chris Metelsky was holding a bloody towel on his head. Both victims were taken by paramedics to Elyria Memorial Hospital.

While interviewing other witnesses, two residents of a different apartment said the suspect came there with the sword just prior and that he “usually carries it about the residence,” the police report said.

Officers looked in the suspect’s tent in the backyard and found a sheath for the Kantana sword, as well as a Tanto sword sitting on a chair. The Kantana sword was recovered by police.