A man with a large kitchen knife entered the Payless Shoe Source store at 3rd and Pine at about 10:35 am this morning. He ordered all of the employees and customers out of the store, telling them that this was an issue between him and the police. Officers arrived within minutes and began negotiating with the man. Traffic on 3rd Avenue was shut down temporarily between Pike and Pine while officers were speaking with the man.
After about 20 minutes, officers convinced the man to put down the knife and he was taken into custody without incident.
The 67-year-old man was taken to Harborview Medical Center. Officers are coordinating mental health assistance for the man. There were no injuries during this incident.