Bay Area man reportedly vows to ‘mess up the commute for everyone,’ and boy, does he succeed

An hours-long standoff Thursday between police and a man with an apparent grudge against commuters disrupted light rail service in the San Francisco Bay Area through the morning rush hour and into the afternoon.

Standing atop a train in San Jose, the man refused to come down and told Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies he wanted “to mess up the commute for everyone,” KGO-TV reported. Bay Area news stations have reported that the man spat at officers and fell asleep at one point during the more than nine-hour standoff.

Sheriff’s officials told KTVU-TV that they planned to wait the man out. Authorities negotiated with the man until they took him into custody after 1 p.m., officials said.

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A train operator first spotted the man on the tracks just after 1 a.m. The man then apparently climbed onto the roof of the train.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority reported “major light rail service impacts” near North 1st Street and Component Drive.

“This activity prevents us from getting trains into service north of Metro station,” train service said in a statement. Service was restored for evening commuters.

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