FAIRHOPE, Ala. — For eight hours Tuesday morning, several downtown Fairhope streets were blocked off around Ravenite Pizzaria, while law enforcement officers sought to prevent an explosion or suicide of Richard Cary Gambino, who had barricaded himself there at 4:30 a.m. and threatened to blow up the building, according to media accounts that day.

At about 10:20 a.m., police entered the building after using a flash bomb and took Gambino into custody.

“This is over,” City Administrator Gregg Mims said by phone at that time. “They got him out of the building.”

The town was filled that morning with a phalanx of three television satellite trucks, an armored car, fire department trucks and dozens of law enforcement and volunteer fireman.

“We’ve been here since about 4:30 this morning,” Mims said about an hour before the situation was resolved without incident. “Local, state and federal officials have been involved in a continuing effort to negotiate to get him to come out.”

Rumors swirled throughout the morning, but Mims said no other person was in the building as some had speculated, and that although Gambino family members said he had access to a gun, that had not been confirmed by law enforcement personnel at that time, despite what some people were claiming.

Mims did say that gas service had been cut off to the building during the episode and confirmed that Gambino was a co-owner of the business.

Before noon Tuesday, traffic was back to normal in the downtown area, but yellow crime scene tape had cordoned off the front of the pizza shop where all the drama had taken place.