Police on Thursday arrested an assault suspect after a brief standoff where he perched precariously on an 11th-floor ledge of a downtown Long Beach office building.
A bystander said the situation began when the man tried to rob DoLy’s Delectables, which is on the ground floor of the building at Broadway and Long Beach Boulevard. Preliminary reports from police indicated the man was also suspected of assaulting at least two people.
Jason Cottrell was walking into DoLy’s for his morning coffee around 11 a.m. when he found the workers fleeing, their eyes stinging from pepper spray, he said.
The workers told police the man showed them a knife and demanded money, but one of the workers pepper-sprayed him, according to Cottrell.
The suspect made his way up into the building, where he could be seen holding onto a fire escape on the 11th floor.
Police called in extra officers to shut down the street and radioed for an airbag to try to break the man’s fall if he jumped or tipped over the edge.
At around 12:15 p.m., police took the man into custody.
Police did not immediately respond to a request for more information.