A 38-year-old man was taken in custody unharmed near Veterans Parkway on Monday after allegedly throwing items at vehicles and threatening to shoot officers with what turned out to be a replica handgun.
The incident began around 4:20 p.m. Monday, with reports of a "disorderly individual, yelling and throwing items at vehicles" near Veterans and Parkway Plaza, just north of College Avenue, Normal Police said. The 38-year-old man "indicated that he had a gun and would shoot officers," police said.
Normal Police closed down traffic in the area, calling it a "critical situation" with an armed subject. Officers began intervention and de-escalation with the man, police said. Those efforts were successful, and the man was taken into custody without injury around 5:08 p.m. He was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation, police said.
"It was determined that the weapon the individual had was a replica handgun," police said in a statement.
Traffic along Veterans near College was moving again by around 5:30 p.m.
