Shirtless madman climbs LA’s Sixth Street Bridge, holding traffic hostage

A shirtless nutjob scaled the Sixth Street Bridge in downtown Los Angeles Friday morning, causing traffic chaos below as he refused to come down.

The man was seen pacing back and forth on one of the bridge’s arches, leading to the span’s closure from the 101 Freeway to Mateo Street, according to KTLA.

The crazed suspect was also spotted grabbing and shaking a Los Angeles Fire Department ladder extended up to him in the hopes he’d come down. The ladder was later removed.

Several LAPD officers were seen speaking to the man, who had a red bandana. A person in a red coat with the letters “DMH” and a blue clipboard was seen next to the officers, possibly a Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health worker.

He has been up there for at least two hours. Fire officials responded to the scene around 8:45 a.m., and he still hadn’t come down by around 11:05 a.m. this morning.

At one point, the man was seen lighting a small fire on the arch.

Officials initially arrived at the scene after receiving reports of a person threatening to jump from the bridge.

Motorists have been advised to avoid the area.

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