SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- A homeless man with a history of "angry, aggressive, and combative encounters" threatened to kill a middle school student on Thursday morning, according to police.

Officers say the boy was riding his scooter behind the Albertsons grocery store at Marcola Road and 19th Street around 7:45 a.m. when he was confronted by the suspect, later identified as Justin Offill.

Officials say Offill threatened to kill the boy because the boy "got in his way."

The student rode off and reported the incident to officials at Briggs Middle School.

Offill was located near 48th and Main streets around noon and arrested for harassment and disorderly conduct. He was booked into the Springfield Municipal Jail.

Police Lt. Scott McKee praised the boy for his quick thinking and for promptly reporting the incident.

“We couldn’t have scripted his response any better ourselves,” McKee said. “We rehearse these scenarios with our children hoping they will never encounter them, and this kid did exactly what we all would hope.”