A knife-wielding man was arrested after an hours-long standoff Wednesday morning in a Van Nuys Denny's.
A bizarre manhunt began around 4:30 a.m. when officers were initially called to the 7200 block of Valjean Avenue due to a report of a man with a knife who lit a jacket on fire and threw it at a building. Authorities searched the neighborhood for the subject, who at one point appeared to be hiding in a tree.
He eventually jumped down and ran into a Denny's restaurant in the 16400 block of Sherman Way, where the man was apparently barricaded inside a restroom. SWAT members responded to the Denny's, but the man refused to come out.
He was finally taken into custody around 11 a.m. An ambulance responded to the restaurant, but details regarding possible injuries were not immediately available.
Nearby streets were closed and police asked drivers to avoid the area, located a few blocks west of the 405 Freeway.
