After Nearly Five Hour Standoff, Police Make Entry at Reyn Restaurant to Find Armed Suspect is not There

After nearly five hours of surrounding what police believed was an armed suspect barricaded inside a locked bathroom at The Reyn Restaurant in the 600 block of North Lake Avenue on Monday morning, officers backed up by a police dog gained entry to the locked room shortly before noon to discover the suspect had previously fled and was not inside.

There were no shots fired at any time and no known injuries.

The incident began at 7:15 a.m., Lieutenant Mark Goodman said, when police were called to the restaurant responding to a report that an employee armed with a handgun had locked himself in a bathroom.

Based on the totality of the circumstances, police believed the man may have been suffering from a mental health emergency, Lt. Mark Goodman said.

There were no members of the public in the restaurant at the time the incident began, Goodman said. The man was believed to be alone in the bathroom.

Police secured the area and shut down traffic on North Lake Avenue between Orange Grove Blvd. and Villa Street, according to witnesses.

Witness reports indicate police attempted to communicate with the suspect by a bullhorn, urging his surrender, and that the restaurant owner also spoke on the bullhorn.

One eyewitness said “We pass by and saw cops with their guns drawn as if they were waiting for someone. They were on opposite sides of The Reyn and across the street too, taking cover behind walls and waiting.”

Pasadena Police SWAT units responded with the armed Bearcat personnel carrier and after nearly 5 hours, shortly before noon, gained entry to the locked room to discover the suspect was not there.

The suspect remains at large, Goodman said.