A man armed with a sword or a knife was taken into custody early Monday morning after an hours-long standoff with police in downtown Los Angeles.
The man entered a gift shop in Little Tokyo shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday afternoon and barricaded himself, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Police said he frightened the employees and they ran out in fear.
The standoff started when the suspect refused the owner's orders to put down a knife and Samurai sword he was holding and assaulted a security guard in the store, Los Angeles police Sgt. Ed Perez told City News Service. The guard was not injured.
Several SWAT teams were called to the store, and shoppers and tourists in the center were pushed back away from the shop.
Police flushed the man out with tear gas just before 1:30 a.m. and then took him into custody.
No injuries were reported.
