Standoff with armed man shuts down I-35 near Faribault

Interstate 35 was shut down temporarily Sunday afternoon after a man fled authorities before winding up in a standoff with police south of Faribault in southern Minnesota.

According to the Rice County Sheriff's Office, the incident began around 2:52 p.m. when a 41-year-old driver fled authorities northbound on Interstate 35 south of Faribault and then got out of his vehicle, "produced a handgun" and "made his way into the southbound traffic lanes."

The sheriff's office, in a release issued around 10:45 p.m. Sunday, said the armed man "paced around this area of I-35" for several hours before he was taken into custody after 7 p.m.

During the standoff, the man allegedly ignored commands to drop his weapon and shot his gun multiple times, which resulted in no injuries.

The press release says a SWAT unit a State Patrol special response squad used "non-lethal tactics" to take the man into custody, though video posted online suggests that a police canine may have been involved in the arrest.