Possibly armed suspect barricaded in Amtrak train in Chatsworth

CHATSWORTH, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A possibly armed suspect was barricaded for hours inside an Amtrak train in Chatsworth Friday night, causing several evacuated passengers to be left stranded.

Authorities received reports of a man with a gun inside Train 790, the Pacific Surfliner, at about 6:19 p.m. The train stopped at the Chatsworth and was isolated, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

As of midnight, the suspect remained barricaded inside as deputies tried to bring the incident to a peaceful end.

Dozens of passengers were left frightened - and stranded.

"Someone reported that he dropped a gun - likely was then reported to the train folks - and that's when things escalated," said passenger Allison Bird.

Witnesses said the suspect appeared to be under the influence, or possibly had a mental health issue.

"I didn't know what was happening. I just saw two cops - one escorted us out and the other one had a shotgun and then they had, like, AK-47s out," said another passenger.

Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner travels from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego.

The incident is causing delays in other trains. Metrolink tweeted that its Ventura County Line 121 to Moorpark is stopped at Northridge. VC Line 119 to East Ventura had been delayed up to 45 minutes and VC Line 117 to East Ventura had also been delayed up to 90 minutes. VC Line 123 to East Ventura was held at the Van Nuys station.

Check Metrolink's Twitter feed for the latest updates on train delays.