Knife-wielding man locked in office at West Sacramento Lowe’s causes hours-long standoff

After several hours locked inside the office of a Lowe’s home improvement store Friday night, a man armed with a knife was taken into custody, West Sacramento police said.

Sgt. Stefan Iwanicki, a spokesman for the West Sacramento Police Department, said officers were called to the Lowe’s at Westbridge Plaza around 7:45 p.m. on reports of a possibly intoxicated person wielding a knife inside the store.

Store employees told police that the man had vomited inside the store before locking himself inside an office.

Police crisis negotiation and a mental health team worked for several hours trying to get the man to come out peacefully. At one point, he damaged an overhead sprinkler system in the office, pouring water into parts of the store. Fire personnel deactivated the sprinklers.

Around 11:30 p.m., the man “just came out on his own,” Iwanicki said. He was taken into custody without incident after having superficial injuries checked out at a hospital. No one inside the store was injured.

Police would not release the man’s name, but said he faces charges of vandalism and obstruction.