A 57-year-old man walked into Wichita police patrol south station Monday and held an officer working the front desk at gunpoint with what police later determined was an air pellet gun, authorities said.

The incident started shortly before 7 p.m. when the man tried to get in through the front door of the station but was locked, WPD Lt. Todd Ojile said at the scene.

The officer then saw the man on camera walk around the station and disappear for a short time. The man entered through the back door, which police say was not working correctly, according to Ojile.

The man got into the lobby where the officer got up from the desk and walked toward the lobby to tell the man that the station was closed.

The man pulled out what was believed to be a handgun at the time and pointed it at the officer’s head and told other officers to shoot him.

Only two officers were in the station when the incident occurred; the officer held at gunpoint and a lieutenant, Ojile said.

More officers responded to the station where they tried to talk the man down for about 45 minutes. Police used a less lethal round that struck the man in the abdominal area. It did not work.

The man eventually put down the pellet gun and surrendered. He was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation, Ojile said.

Police say the man was undergoing a mental health crisis.

“The individual was not threatening toward the officers, he did not try and advance on the officers, he did not point his weapon at the officers,” Ojile said.

A portion of Pawnee and Broadway were closed off during the incident.