Irvine police release bodycam video of shooting of murder suspect who stabbed paralyzed man

IRVINE, Calif. (KABC) — A recently released bodycam video shows the intense moment an Irvine police officer shot and killed a suspect accused of stabbing a paralyzed man.

John Alexander Bash III, a 38-year-old man confined to a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury, was killed in his own home in Whistling Swan on Aug. 5, police said.

An Irvine police officer later shot and killed the suspect, 47-year-old Aaron Matthew Shindle, during an altercation.

Surveillance video shows Shindle driving a minivan into Bash's home and then breaking into the house. Shindle breaks into Bash's bedroom and brutally stabs the defenseless victim.

After hearing the commotion, Bash's caregiver desperately called 911 for help.

“It's like a crime scene. Oh my God!” said the nurse in the emergency call released by police. “I don't know what to do.”

When police rushed to the scene, they found Shindle's van partially parked inside the house.

A search is launched and Shindle is found about an hour later at the corner of Stonecreek South and West Yale Loop.

An officer asks Shindle his name and if he lives in the area. He then tells Shindle to put down his knife.

After ignoring several requests to drop the knife, the officer opens fire.

An Irvine Police Department drone recorded the incident and took an aerial photo of the moment shots were fired.

The rescue workers provided first aid, but Shindle died in the hospital.

According to their own statements, the police found a knife at the crime scene.

Investigators say Shindle was Bash's former caregiver, but family members say he hadn't worked for Bash in several years.

After the murder, heartbroken family members told Eyewitness News that the entire chain of events was difficult to process.

“I'm devastated. My wife's whole family is devastated, but the second thought is that we have someone who can't defend himself,” said Bash's brother-in-law, Lindsey Myers. “He can't run away. He can't get up and move, and for something like this to happen to him is just incredibly tragic.”