A 37-year-old man was taken into custody Sunday afternoon outside a downtown Novato home after a child called police to say the man had a gun, police said.

Four officers responded to the 700 block of Lamont Avenue following the call at 11:48 a.m., and a portion of the street was blocked off to traffic, according to Sgt. Jay Demski. Officers set up a command post and monitored the situation on the east end of Lamont — in the shadows of Highway 101 — trying to reach the man via telephone.

"Setting up a command post and a street closure is standard procedure for us in response to an incident like this where a weapon is reported," Demski said. "We didn't have complete information at the time."