Motorists traveling along Interstate 880 in Oakland Tuesday morning received quite the scare when a man was spotted waving what was later determined to be a BB gun at passing drivers, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The unidentified man in his 20s was eventually taken into custody without incident, CHP Officer Herman Baza said. No shots were fired that authorities know of and no injuries were reported.
Authorities received numerous calls around 9:45 a.m. regarding the man who was said to be "waving a handgun at people in different directions and acting erratic" along northbound Interstate 880 near the 66th Avenue on-ramp, Baza said. A CHP helicopter later confirmed that the man was waving some sort of gun at people.
With guns drawn, arriving officers discovered that the man had tucked the gun into his waistband, according to Baza. The man complied with officers' commands and was taken into custody. He was transported to a hospital for a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation.
Officers later determined that the gun was a BB gun.
"The gun looked just like a regular firearm," Baza said. "Any average person would believe that he was waving a firearm at people."
As to why the man may have been waving the gun at passing motorists, Baza said that the man's van had broken down on the side of the freeway and that he felt "unsafe."
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"He made some statements that he was fearful that he was going to get hit by traffic so he felt like he had to pull out his BB gun at people," Baza said.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact the Oakland CHP office.
Further information was not available.
