Man Attacks Restaurant Employee With Sledgehammer Then Leads Cops To Homicide Victim In His Home: Police

A California man faces multiple charges, including murder, after attacking a restaurant employee with a sledgehammer and then leading police to a homicide victim in his home, officials said.

Around 12:00 p.m. on Feb. 20, officers responded to a call from Nash’s Steak House in Visalia about a man who entered the restaurant, ordered food and then attacked a worker, the Visalia Police Department said.

While waiting for his food, the man, later identified as Michael Major, 54, began wandering around the restaurant and eventually went to the back of the bar area.

An employee was sitting in a chair, waiting for his shift to start, when Major allegedly walked up behind him, pulled out a 10-inch sledgehammer and started hitting the victim in the back of the head.

Fellow employees heard the assault and rushed over to pull Major off the victim. The workers were able to take the sledgehammer and a knife away from him, police said.

Major fled the business through the back door and ran to Kaweah Health Medical Center, where he was detained by security and officers.

While investigators were speaking with Major about the incident at the steakhouse, the suspect told them they needed to check a residence in Visalia for an additional victim with injuries.

Police went to the location Major indicated and found a deceased body.

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The restaurant worker injured in the attack was taken to Kaweah Medical Center and is in stable condition. The identification of the dead body is being withheld pending notification of family.

Major was charged with homicide and attempted homicide, police said.

Authorities have not disclosed possible motives for the crimes, and the investigation is ongoing.