Train evacuated in San Diego County after rider flashes weapon

SAN DIEGO —  Sheriff’s deputies arrested a train passenger in Solana Beach after the man allegedly threatened train staff with a pellet gun that at first appeared to be a real firearm, authorities said.

The incident began around noon Friday on a North County Transit District Coaster train when a passenger began shouting profanities at other passengers, including children, according to Sgt. Thomas Byrne from the sheriff’s north coastal station.

When train staff approached the man to try to defuse the situation, he placed his hand on the grip of what appeared to be a handgun concealed in his waistband, Byrne said in a news release. The employees retreated and began evacuating the train at the Solana Beach Coaster station.

With the train stopped at the transit center, deputies boarded the train and took the armed man into custody, Byrne said. That’s when deputies learned the weapon was an airsoft pellet gun.

Deputies arrested the man, a 27-year-old San Diego resident, on suspicion of making a criminal threat. Jail records showed he was booked Friday afternoon into the Vista Detention Facility in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Train service in the area, which was delayed earlier in the day for a fatal crash in Carlsbad, was affected for about an hour, authorities said. Normal train service resumed about 1 p.m., according to Byrne.