Enraged man pulls out bat on subway, threatens passenger — who turns out to be a former NYPD detective carrying a gun

David Morales told WCBS-TV he was headed to work on a Brooklyn subway train when another passenger near him basically flipped out.

"Apparently my bag must have touched his bag, and he must have been having a really, really bad day, and he erupted," Morales told the station regarding last month's incident. "I could see he had some issues. I don't know what they were, but he was really angry."

"You're threatening me, you're threatening me, and you're threatening my property!" the angry man was seen yelling on cellphone video and wielding a bat, WCBS reported.

"What you don't see in the video, he did take the bat out, and he did put it behind his back for a swing…" Morales added to the station, noting that the man began to threaten "consequences."

Oh, how the tables turn

At that point, Morales said his training kicked in. His police training, that is.

See, Morales is a retired NYPD detective who spent 28 years with the department — and as part of his present job with the city's administration for children's services, he's licensed to carry a firearm, WCBS said.

And when the man with the bat threatened violence, Morales told the station "that's when I said, 'Okay, I'm in trouble here' and took out my gun to make sure that he would stay away from me."

Not surprisingly, he recalled to the station that "when I took out my revolver, that's when he decided not to swing."

Morales is heard on the video, saying, "I'm a police officer, you're under arrest."

What happened to the bat-wielding man?

The bat-wielding man was was identified as Brian Baksa and was believed to be homeless, WCBS reported, adding that he was arrested near the Clinton Street stop in Fort Greene and charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.

What did the founder of the Guardian Angels have to say?

Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa told the station Morales was able to do what most people can't.

"A lot of times it's average, everyday people who have no weapons, and they generally run for cover," Sliwa added to WCBS. "But sometimes you can't run, you can't hide, and you have to deal with what could be the monster or the beast."

Anything else?

NYPD Transit tweeted a photo lauding Morales' "calm and restraint":

His blood still blue, retired NYPD Detective Dave Morales showed calm and restraint when a man threatened subway passengers with a bat- Now an Administration for Children’s Services investigator, Dave’s concern and care for kids carried over to fellow subway riders yesterday pic.twitter.com/pTBGcldWIe

— NYPD Transit (@NYPDTransit) June 20, 2019

In the aftermath, the former detective's gut told him he probably was the right person in the right place at the right time.

"I think he was looking to commit a crime that day," Morales added to WCBS, regarding the bat-wielding man. "If it wasn't me, it would have been someone else."