The town hall of Los Angeles was evacuated Friday during a two -hour confrontation between the police and a motorist who led his car to the sidewalk outside the building and was barricaded inside the vehicle with what seemed to be a oxygen reservoir next to it.
The bizarre incident, which started around 4:10 p.m. Pacific time, amazed the city workers who finished their work week while the black sedan jumped the sidewalk outside the entrance to Spring Street from the building, resting at the foot of the steps.
Zach Seidl, spokesperson for Mayor Karen Bass, said the car was almost smoking when the Los Angeles police were looking to contact the driver, who seemed to undergo a mental health crisis. “As soon as I saw the car, it was clear that something was wrong,” said Seidl.
Nearby, deputies of the Sheriff of the County of Los Angeles evacuated a park in the city center, warning pedestrians of a threat of potential bomb. Los Angeles police called a Swat team to contact the driver. While he was talking to them about the interior of the car, police drones hovered. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles fire service said there was no injury.
Mayor Bass, who was not on the scene, posted on X that the town hall had been evacuated “by abundance of prudence”.
At 6 p.m., TV images of the dead end showed that the police took the driver, an older man with long gray hair, in detention. A handicap sign suspended from the car mirror, and two handmade panels on the dashboard indicate: “I don’t want to hurt anyone” and “I need your US Vet Trump help”.
A section of Spring Street near the Town Hall and other streets remained closed while a helicopter stolen above and the workers in the city center went to traffic during peak hours. The curiosity seekers served, sometimes stopping. On social networks, Ms. Bass thanked “all the first braves who resolved this situation safely with compassion and emergency”.
After the man was handcuffed, he sat in a police vehicle for a while, apparently questioned. The authorities have not immediately disclosed his identity or a possible reason.
At the bottom of Spring Street, while night fell above the town hall, the black car stayed outside the white landmark of 1928 while two bombs squad vehicles and a robot were rolled up to check it for the explosives and that a dog sniffing bombs inspected the ground.
