A man holding a firearm barricaded himself in an Astoria basement early this afternoon before he was escorted to a local hospital, police said.
The man, whose identity has not been released, barricaded himself in a basement at 34-09 42nd St. Officers and FDNY responded to the call at about 11:40 a.m., according to an NYPD spokesperson. Police could not confirm if the man lives at that location.
The spokesperson said police believe he was armed and it took them until about 2:40 p.m. to get the man out of the basement. He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital without incident.
An Astoria business owner witnessed the incident and tweeted about it at 12:07 p.m.
“Heavy police presence on 34th 42nd st. person with weapons has entered a building & ppl are standing around w their phones bye. #astoria,” the tweet read.
According to the NYPD spokesperson, the man appeared to be emotionally disturbed and will probably not face criminal charges.
