Oakland police subdue armed man in BART station

Police used beanbag projectiles to capture an armed man at the 12st Street BART station Thursday, after a chase that began on the street above and affected train service for more than an hour.

The incident began around 5:30 p.m., when Oakland police received reports of a man on Broadway carrying a firearm and pointing it at passing vehicles. It ended shortly before 7 p.m. when the suspect — who turned out to be carrying a BB pistol — was subdued by several officers on the lower platform of the 12th Street station.

“Obviously, it was a tense situation,” said Lt. David Elzey. “We’re lucky that BART wasn’t as crowded as it normally would be on a weekday at rush hour.”

After the initial calls, police responding caught sight of the man near 13th Street and Broadway. They trailed him, but as officers began to close in the suspect ran down stairs into the station.

The police were close behind, with additional officers deployed at BART entrances to keep people from entering or leaving the stations. Service was delayed for up to 15 minutes in all directions, with trains passing through the station without stopping.

The suspect was cornered on the westbound platform. When he refused calls to surrender, police fired beanbags rounds from shotguns at him and placed him in custody after taking his weapon.

“We get a report of a guy pointing gun at people, that’s a priority call,” Elzey said. “Still, to us it’s a peaceful resolution.”

Police declined to identify the suspect, who was being held in custody pending charges.

John King is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jking@sfchronicle.com