Man Handcuffed in Middle of Columbia Pike After Reported Gun Brandishing

(Updated at 2:55 p.m.) A man was taken into police custody at gunpoint in the middle of Columbia Pike this afternoon after a false report that he threatened someone with a gun.

The incident happened just before 2 p.m. near the intersection of the Pike and S. Glebe Road.

A 911 caller said the man had threatened him with a gun during some sort of confrontation, according to scanner traffic. According to Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage, the incident started as a verbal confrontation between the caller and the man over the caller allegedly ogling the man’s girlfriend while the couple was stopped in their car on Glebe Road near the Bank of America.

Police, told that the man had a gun, rushed to the scene and conducted a traffic stop on a car matching the description relayed by the caller. Officers ordered the man out of the vehicle with his hands up and took him into custody in the middle of Columbia Pike.

Upon further investigation, officers determined that the man did not have a gun in his possession and was not armed during the confrontation, Savage said.

“Basically it was just a verbal dispute that escalated,” Savage said. The scene has been cleared and no charges have been filed.