Summerville Man in Custody Following Bridge Standoff

1:30 p.m. @ 6-24-13: Police have taken a Summerville man for evaluation at MUSC following a bridge standoff that halted traffic from for more than five hours on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.

Police say David Lee Manning, 46, of Brookstone Way in Summerville, parked his vehicle on the southbound side of the bridge just before 7 a.m. and was threatening suicide.

Officers closed two lanes of the bridge as Manning reportedly walked back and forth on the bridge as officers attempted to calm the situation. The standoff ended at noon, and Manning was placed in protective custody, according to police spokesman Maj. Stan Gragg.

For a while, police closed all four southbound lanes of the bridge. Police appeared to offer the man a pizza just before he was placed in custody. All lanes were open and traffic was returning to normal by 1 p.m.

12:20 p.m. @ 6-24-13: Police have reportedly placed in custody the person involved in this morning's standoff.

At least three lanes of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge were re-opened just before 12:30 p.m., ending a five-hour standoff that backed up traffic for miles along southbound Hwy. 17, according to reports.

The standoff made for impossibly long waits that extended bumper-to-bumper traffic from the bridge to Interstate 526 in Mount Pleasant. A three-car pile-up  around 9 a.m., just past the Clements Ferry Road exit on I-526, cut off the only alternate route.

Noon @ 6-24-13: All southbound lanes of the Ravenel Bridge are now closed, according to media reports.

The original story appears as follows:

An early morning suicide threat on the Ravenel Bridge is stalling traffic well into mid-morning.

Emergency crews have closed two lanes on the southbound side of the Ravenel Bridge as they sort out the situation with the apparent bridge jumper. The scene began to unfold around 7 a.m.

Motorists should take other routes from Mount Pleasant to Charleston. Highway 17 was at times backed nearly to Interstate 526 this morning.

This is a breaking news update. Check back for updates.