Historic City News reader Evelyn Hammock was on location at the Wendy’s Restaurant at Riverside Shopping Center in St Augustine, at about 7:30 p.m. this evening where a man made his way onto the roof of the restaurant and began stripping off his clothes.
FINALLY! Just after midnight, deputies on the roof at Wendy’s with the despondent man were able to coax him to come down an extension ladder propped along the north side of the restaurant.
When he reached the bottom stair, awaiting deputies gave him room so that he could walk himself into the patrol car without being pushed.
An update with details on tonight’s events will be forthcoming Monday.
Wendy’s personnel attempted to coax the man, whose identity is not known, to come off the roof but he refused. Witnesses tell reporters that the man had been walking along the edge of the roof line at one point and hollering to bystanders below.
“Deputies are on scene with a despondent individual at US-1 and SR-312,” St Johns County Sheriffs Office posted to their twitter. “There is no threat to public safety, and we are working to reach out to this individual and get him assistance.”
The county’s Crisis Intervention Team has been on the scene about 45-min or more. An earlier attempt to subdue the man using bean-bags failed to bring him under control.
“Please avoid the area if possible. Thank you for your understanding,” a sheriff’s spokesman wrote.
In the meantime, St Johns County Fire Rescue, city police, and additional deputies arrived to control traffic and deploy some strategy to remove the man from the roof.
About 30-minutes ago, police brought a woman to the parking lot of the restaurant in an attempt to communicate with the man. It is not known is she is his wife, girlfriend, or family member, but she is trying to get him to respond to her.
This report was updated with additional information:
© 2018 Evelyn Hammock for Historic City News
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