A man who apparently had set his jacket on fire, ran away from police and barricaded himself inside a Denny’s restaurant bathroom near the Van Nuys Airport has been taken into custody LAPD officials said Wednesday.
The incident began about 4:20 a.m. when police were called to an arson suspect who was lighting his jacket on fire at the Airtel Plaza Hotel along Valjean Avenue, Los Angeles Police Capt. Patricia Sandoval said.
Police approached the 35-year-old man, but he ran into the Denny’s at 16575 Sherman Way.
No one else is inside the restaurant, Sandoval said, but the man was armed with a knife.
SWAT responded to the scene and negotiated with the suspect and he was eventually arrested. He has not been identified.
The Los Angeles Fire Department as well as Van Nuys Airport Police were at the scene.
KTLA’s Jennifer Thang contributed to this story.