Armed trucker arrested after Missouri rest stop standoff

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An armed truck driver was arrested Friday after his hours-long standoff at a Missouri rest stop forced the freeway’s closure and snarled traffic for miles ahead of the holiday weekend.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a Twitter post that the man was taken into custody about 1 p.m. at the Interstate 29 rest stop north of Kansas City, though it didn’t elaborate about circumstances involving his arrest.

His name was not released, and there was no immediate word about any charges.

The patrol said the standoff began shortly before 9 a.m. following reports of a man seen pointing a rifle at passing traffic while he was parked at the rest stop. Authorities evacuated that site, leaving only the unidentified trucker and officers, and shut down the freeway in both directions.

No shots were fired, state patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe said.

More than three hours into the standoff, Lowe told reporters that the trucker was not co-operating with police negotiators who tried to broker his surrender.

“We realize it is a holiday travel weekend but we want everybody to be safe,” Lowe said in justifying the road closure.