U.S. Airmen with the 1st Special Operations Logistics Readiness Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Henry Hoegen/Released)

Nighttime Ninjutsu: When Ninja cosplay gets a little too real

A little after 1 a.m. on Sept. 18, an unidentified man dressed as a ninja wandered onto Inyokern Airport in California to later attack members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) who were training there, with a sword.

He first approached to ask, rather bluntly, “do you know where my family is?” To which a staff sergeant, who had stepped out for a quick smoke, replied, “no.”

This response was apparently a trigger for the black-clad shinobi, as he began to slash at the staff sergeant. Some of these blows hit the soldier in his knee and leg, leaving injuries that would eventually need stitches.

After being attacked, the staff sergeant evaded his assailant through the parking lot. After a series of maneuvers, the soldier jumped a fence and made it into the admin building on site.

A screenshot of what appears to be a military incident report shared on Reddit describing an attack on a group of soldiers Sept. 18, 2021, in California by a sword-wielding man dressed as a ninja. (Screenshot courtesy of Reddit)

After getting into the building, the wounded staff sergeant and a captain who was present locked all of the doors and called 911. This was met with a barrage of strikes and kicks on the doors and windows of the building.

The climax of this situation came when the ninja’s last ditch effort was decided on: throwing a chunk of asphalt through the window.

This chunk broke through the glass and hit the captain over the head, who also had to get stitches later on.

An expected exit

Ridgecrest Police Department dispatch records involving a sword-wielding attacker in full ninja costume from Sept. 18, 2021. (Dispatch record courtesy of Ridgecrest Police Department)

Dispatch records from the Ridgecrest Police Department appear to confirm some details in the document posted on social media.

After confirming that the incident described in the document leaked on social media did occur, U.S. Army SOAR Command spokesman Maj. Jeff Slinker said officials did not have additional information.

According a separate record shared on social media, the ninja was arrested elsewhere.

The incident report photo was shared Wednesday on the Instagram meme page Daddy SOARbucks before appearing on Reddit.

Also Read: See the tattoos inspired by the GWOT