TIFTON, Ga. (WALB) — A man who was reportedly carrying a hatchet in the area of the Tifton Mall on Monday, Feb. 16, was arrested by Tifton Police (TPD) after attempting to run away from officers.

Responding officers said they found Joshua Dunkleberger, 37, with a hatchet. TPD said Dunkleberger was wearing all black clothes and had a clown mask covering his face.

After removing the hatchet from Dunkleberger’s possession, TPD reportedly found two baggies that they said appeared to have residue of suspected methamphetamine in them.

Dunkleberger complied with TPD’s instructions briefly before he took off running into the mall, according to an incident report.

TPD officers caught up to Dunkleberger inside the mall, but he continued running back outside of the mall.

Outside the mall, Dunkleberger was reportedly met with more responding TPD officers. He was then taken to the Tift County Jail.

Dunkleberger was charged with one count of obstructing officers.

One officer was injured while chasing Dunkleberger down, the incident report said. That officer was taken to Tift Regional Medical Center to be evaluated for his injury.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook and X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.