West Sacramento street closed as reported gunman arrested with replica Uzi, police say
Authorities closed a busy street Wednesday in West Sacramento as police officers subdued a man who reportedly brandished a gun and was found with a replica Uzi submachine gun.
The incident began about 11 a.m. when officers were called to the 2400 block of West Capitol Avenue, just east of Harbor Boulevard, for a report of a man who had brandished a gun on a victim, the West Sacramento Police Department announced on Facebook. It wasn’t clear to the officers on their way to the scene whether the suspect was trying to rob the victim or still in the area.
The officers arrived and spotted a man matching the suspect description and quickly recognized him from another incident. Police officials said the man was on probation for carrying a concealed dirk or dagger in Sacramento County..
Officers tried to speak to the man to de-escalate the situation, but the suspect refused to comply with officers’ instructions and “remained to be in a highly agitated state,” police said. The suspect then walked to the street’s center median.
Authorities then closed West Capitol in both directions and diverted traffic away from the area. Police said the suspect then paced back and forth on the median as he continued to drink an alcoholic beverage in a tall can.
A member of the Police Department’s crisis intervention team was at the scene and tried to get the suspect to comply and peacefully surrender.
Police said the suspect took a fighting stance and made statements about fighting with officers and not surrendering. They also said the suspect “displayed erratic behavior and posed as threat” to the public.
The officers developed a plan to have an arrest team subdue the suspect, who was then apprehended, according to the Police Department. The officers found a replica Uzi submachine gun among the suspect’s personal belongings, police said.
The man was arrested on suspicion of brandishing a weapon, petty theft, obstructing police and resisting arrest by means of threat or violence towards an officer. The Police Department on Wednesday afternoon had not release the suspect’s name.
