The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said they arrested a man who ran up behind a bicyclist and slung a machete.
Deputies arrested 40-year-old Andrew Shattuck.
The incident happened around lunchtime on Friday along Collingswood Boulevard and Cedarwood Street.
An arrest report says Shattuck approached the biker shouting racist and homophobic slurs, then slung a machete at him.
Deputies said Shattuck missed the bicyclist, who quickly got off the bike running for his life.
Deputies said Shattuck threw the machete again, hitting a tree. They arrested him nearby, they said they found the machete in his back pocket.
Shattuck is now at the Charlotte County Jail.
Residents who live along Collingswood Boulevard are relieved that the man who walked their street daily is finally off the streets. They said they no longer have to worry about their children's safety.
"He's very vulgar. Always cursing profanities at anybody and anybody that goes by. He's cursing at my little 3-year-old, so, he just needs to be in a facility," said Antonio Wade. "I've seen the homeless guy wears women's clothing and has a full-on beard. I've had altercations with him myself, so, yeah, he's not right in the head."
Gordon Rider said, "He always yells and there ain't nobody there. I mean, really yelling at, I guess, somebody that he thinks he sees. I have never seen him with a machete. So, if he had a machete in it, he must have got it just recently."