A man was taken into custody after a pursuit turned into an hourslong standoff in the parking lot of a Costco in Los Angeles, authorities confirmed.
The incident started at about 10:45 a.m. when a van was spotted in the Elysian Park area with the word “bomb” written on the side, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. When officers arrived, they began following the vehicle.
When the driver refused to obey a traffic stop, a pursuit ensued. The pursuit lasted less than 10 minutes before the driver came to a stop in the Costco parking lot on the 2900 block of Los Feliz Boulevard in the Atwater Village neighborhood of L.A.
Because of the “bomb” text, and other concerning messaging located on the outside of the van, police evacuated parts of the area as a standoff began. LAPD said officers were able to make some contact with a man who was inside the van, but it took hours of communication with mental health professionals to get him to exit.
He was then taken into custody. The man was not believed to be armed, the LAPD said. It’s believed that the man, who remains unidentified, could’ve been living inside the van.
Authorities said on Monday afternoon that the lot could remain closed for hours as the LAPD works to clear the scene.
