Terminals evacuated in standoff

A sheriff’s sergeant wrestled away a knife from a reportedly suicidal man, ending a four-hour standoff Tuesday morning that caused the evacuation of a terminal at Oakland International Airport, authorities said.

Terminal 1 reopened at about 10:10 a.m. after the man was taken by ambulance to a hospital, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

“The incident has been resolved. Deputies were able to deploy a taser after several hours of negotiations to bring the situation to a safe resolution,” the sheriff’s office said in a series of Twitter posts. “One of our sergeants briefly engaged in a struggle” and ” wrestled the knife away from him.”

Medical personnel wheeled out a man on a gurney around 9:45 a.m. The sheriff’s office said he had a self-inflicted minor injury to his neck but was otherwise OK physically. No one else was hurt.

“We are proud that our deputies were able to safely resolve this incident using de-escalation and a great deal of patience,” the sheriff’s office said.

Crisis negotiators and deputies from the sheriff’s office were at the scene, and the sheriff’s office said they negotiated with the man on the outer half of Terminal 1 near the baggage claim area. Terminal Two, the airport’s only other terminal, remained open, and authorities at one point filtered passengers through that terminal to get to their flights.

Authorities rushed to the airport around 5:45 a.m. According to the sheriff’s office, a man pulled out a knife. He did not threaten to harm anyone other than himself, the sheriff’s office said.

Passengers booked on flights with Alaska, Delta, Frontier and Hawaiian airlines were evacuated, airport spokesman Robert Bernardo said.

ARIC CRABB STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Emergency medical workers move a man on a gurney into an ambulance outside Terminal 1at Oakland International Airport on Tuesday. The terminal was shut down for hours after officials say the man, who had a knife, was threatening to harm himself.