Knife-wielding man tells Cobb auto shop workers they’re ‘going to die tonight,’ slashes tires

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Workers at an auto shop in Cobb County say a man threatened to kill them with a knife and then used it to damage cars.

One of the brake technicians told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell that Howard Bickers approached him and a coworker with a knife threatening to kill them, claimed the shop owner owed him money and then slashed some of other customers’ cars.

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“I noticed he was reaching for his waist. I was like I don’t know if the guy had a gun,” brake technician at Powder Springs Brake, Lube and Tune Up Luis Sanchez said. “He starts yelling profanities towards us, saying how we were going to die tonight, how we ripped him off.”

They say Bickers claimed the shop owed him money.

“This gentleman never had been to our shop. He’s not a current or past customer, so ripping him off, I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Sanchez said.

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Eventually, they say Bickers used the knife to slash one tire on six or seven cars.

Employees told Newell that Bickers showed up to the shop two days before the incident and threatened workers, so when they saw him return, they snapped a picture of him before he pulled out the knife.

Police arrested Bickers two weeks ago, but some employees say they are concerned that if he bonds out, he may return to the shop. One employee even said he quit his job at the shop out of his concerns.

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