Tucson Police shut down three blocks of Oracle Road and evacuated part of the Tucson House after receiving reports of a man walking out to his balcony with a gun.Β
Officers responded to reports around 6 p.m. of a man, at the Tucson House on North Oracle Road north of West Speedway, walking into his apartment and out to his balcony holding a gun, saidΒ Sgt. Pete Dugan, spokesman for the police department.
When officers arrived the man was on his balcony but they did not see a gun. He walked back inside his apartment and walked back out to the balcony with a gun shortly after, Dugan said.Β
He has since been pacing in and out of the apartment with a gun, he said.Β
Once they saw him carrying a gun they evacuated nearby apartments and requested a SunTran bus for people to wait in with air conditioning if they had nowhere else to go. They also closed Oracle Road for three blocks in front of the 17-story apartment complex near West Drachman Street
Police are trying to make sure the man is OK and asking whether he needs their help. But the man is playing loud music and has ignored officers' attempts to communicate with him, Dugan said.Β
"We'd like him to come out peacefully and just talk to us," he said.Β
Although it's not a crime, it's not normal for someone to walk in and out of their apartment with a gun and to ignore police officers, Dugan said.Β
