Michigan man uses battle ax to fight off intruder

A Michigan man whose hobbies include ritualized combat with replica weapons from the Middle Ages says he wielded a battle ax he calls "my baby" to fend off an intruder.

Thirty-six-year-old Ben Ball tells WOOD-TV he was playing video games at his apartment in Oshtemo Township, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of Detroit, late Wednesday when someone who once dated his ex-roommate kicked in his door. He believed the attacker might be armed.

This Oct. 26, 2017, photo provided by the Michigan Department of Corrections shows Alex Lavell Rawls. [Photo: Michigan Department of Corrections via AP]

Ball tells the station he grabbed the ax, took two steps forward and struck the intruder in the torso. After the two grappled, the attacker fled. Police deployed a K-9 unit to track a trail of blood leading to 33-year-old Alex Lavell Rawls.

Kalamazoo County officials say Rawls spent the night at hospital before going to jail. WOOD-TV reports Rawls faces a home-invasion charges.