Port Hueneme CA Jan 30 2018 An assault in Port Hueneme Monday morning left a security guard in critical condition and led to the arrest of a 29-year-old man, police said.

The incident took place around 9:50 a.m. in the 1800 block of North 6th Street, east of Ventura Road and south of Sunkist Street, with callers saying one subject was assaulting another with a gun.

When Port Hueneme Police Department officers arrived on the scene, they were initially contacted by the man they ended up arresting, Mariano Chavez, of Port Hueneme, authorities said.

Chavez reportedly claimed he was the victim of an assault, police said. The 29-year-old told police a man handcuffed in his front yard was the suspect, authorities said.

Officers noticed the handcuffed subject was wearing a security guard uniform, lying face down and bleeding profusely from his head and face. His handgun was missing from its holster, police said.

Chavez said the handcuffed man was a family member who had pointed a gun at him, police said, and that Chavez claimed he took the gun in self-defense and hit the man with his fist several times, eventually handcuffing him while waiting for police to arrive.

Investigating officers interviewed witnesses and collected video evidence that told a different story, authorities said.

Officers determined Chavez first hit the 55-year-old armed guard with his fist, removed the gun from his holster and “repeatedly struck the victim in the head with the gun,” police said.

Chavez also threatened to shoot a neighbor who came to the guard’s aid, authorities said.

The guard, who was not identified, was rushed to Ventura County Medical Center and was listed in critical condition, police said. He suffered numerous lacerations to his head and face and was partially missing a thumb.

Chavez was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, mayhem, brandishing a firearm and making criminal threats. He was taken to Ventura County jail with bail set at $500,000, police said.

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