COCOA BEACH, Fla. – A standoff in Cocoa Beach that shut down traffic for hours ended with the subject taken into protective custody.
The incident started around midnight, when police say they got a call about a man in distress, armed with a gun.
They tracked the man to his business, the Calm Collective Kavar Bar on State Road A1A (North Atlantic Avenue), north of the Minuteman Causeway, at about 4 a.m.
Police spent the next several hours trying to get the man to come out of the business peacefully.
“It does appear that he was threatening himself. He was an individual in distress. That’s really all I know at this time,” said Lt. Bill Stanley with the Cocoa Beach Police Department.
But at around 9 a.m., police say they lost communication with the man and had to break a window to get in and take him into custody.
Surrounding businesses are now back open, and so is A1A.