MOUNT VERNON — A man police initially thought to be armed caused officers to close down the intersection of South LaVenture and East Section streets for almost three hours this evening.

The incident started around 5:35 p.m. Friday after a 911 caller told dispatchers that a man had stopped his pickup in the middle of the road and waved a gun out the window, said Jill Boudreau, a police spokeswoman. But officers didn’t find a gun and think the 35-year-old Burlington man was suffering from a medical emergency, she said.

When police arrived at the intersection, the man in the truck appeared to be semi-conscious, but he didn’t respond to officers’ verbal commands, said Lt. Chris Cammock said.

For the public’s safety, officers told nearby residents to remain indoors, and they closed off access to the intersection and parking lots of the nearby school and gas station, police said. Around 6:45 p.m., officers then used an armored SWAT vehicle and their patrol cars to box in the black Nissan pickup to prevent the truck from leaving and the driver from bolting.

The officers approaching behind shields then pulled the man, who was unconscious, from the pickup without incident, Cammock said.

The man was taken to Skagit Valley Hospital, and his condition wasn’t available tonight. About 12 officers responded to the incident, and the road reopened around 7:20 p.m.