The Santa Monica pier was shut on Monday afternoon after a man who scaled the iconic Ferris wheel claimed to have a bomb.
The incident began at around 3 p.m. PST Monday when visitors heard a man make bomb threats. He scaled the Ferris wheel and refused to come down. A crisis negotiation team was then called in hopes that the man would come down. After an hour of talking to the man, he later walked down the structure before police arrested him at around 4:30 p.m.
Officials later confirmed that the man wasn’t armed with an explosive and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. The man was holding a backpack. He appeared to have been going through a mental health crisis.
The Santa Monica Pier has since reopened after police gave an “all-clear” status.
