Wilmington Police responding to threat of violence near city hall

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington Police responded to a 911 call over a threat of violence near Wilmington City Hall Wednesday morning.

According to a tweet from Wilmington Police, around 8:30 a.m., Wilmington police responded to an anonymous 911 call stating there was a gentleman in a vehicle in front of City Hall who was trying to incite violence.

Police are searching for a dark grey in color Lincoln SUV driven by 56 year old Oscar Pinilla. We have involuntary commitment paperwork taken out on him. If you see him, please do not interact with him. Call 911 immediately. pic.twitter.com/6CFtg5bVbn

— Wilmington Police (@WilmingtonPD) July 1, 2020

At 10:00 a.m., the police department tweeted a picture saying Police Chief Donny Williams speaking to the driver.

Police then tweeted and said, “When police arrived, the gentleman attempted to flee. Police blocked off 3rd St. between Chestnut and Princess and have since been calmly talking to him, trying to get him to exit the vehicle. Chief Williams is on scene and has spoken to him.”

A couple minutes later, police tweeted that the driver took off.

Oscar Pinilla was later caught and taken to the hospital for evaluation.