Oakland International Airport Standoff Ends After Nearly Four Hours

A man armed with a knife at Oakland International Airport’s Terminal 1 held off law enforcement for nearly four hours as he threatened to commit suicide on the morning of Tuesday, April 6, 2021. (Photo by Salv007)

A standoff with an armed man at the Oakland International Airport came to an end Tuesday morning after nearly four hours.

According to witness reports, the man appeared to have a knife and was threatening to commit suicide. The outer area of Terminal 1 was evacuated as law enforcement responded to the scene.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office posted on Twitter at 9:22 a.m. that negotiations with the suicidal man were ongoing and that airport liaisons were rerouting passengers through Terminal 2 to get to scheduled flights.

A photo posted by Will Tran of KRON 4 shows a person being wheeled out of the terminal on a gurney around 9:45 a.m. He is seen in handcuffs but did not appear to be visibly injured.

A subsequent incident report was shared by sheriff’s officials on Twitter at 10:12 a.m. where it was revealed that a sergeant “wrestled” the knife away from the man and a Taser was deployed. The subject did sustain a minor neck injury.

He was then transported to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation and help.

Residual flight delays are expected Tuesday.

Update, 10:45 a.m.: This article was updated to include more detailed incident information later provided by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

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