SPRING HILL, Fla. (WFLA) — Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said a knife-wielding suspect threatening patrons prompted a large law enforcement response at a Spring Hill gas station Saturday morning.

The sheriff said the incident was first reported at around 7 a.m., when police received reports of a man with a knife who was chasing people through the parking lot at the Mobil station on Spring Hill Drive.

When the first deputy arrived a few minutes later, the people being threatened had locked themselves inside the store, and he was able to locate the suspect at an Exxon station across the street.

Nienhuis said the man appeared to be on drugs and suffering from a “break with reality” and that he “was saying that he was either going to hurt the deputy or wanted the deputy to kill him.”

The deputy first deployed pepper spray, but the man was not cooperating and was still holding the knife. Other officers and state troopers arrived to assist and fired less-lethal rounds, which also didn’t seem to affect the man.

Deputies and state troopers were eventually able to surround the suspect and deploy tasers, which is what finally caused him to drop the knife and allowed law enforcement to safely take him into custody. The sheriff’s office has not identified the suspect at the time of this report, but said additional information will be released as it becomes available.

The man was taken to the hospital for evaluation, but was soon released and transferred to jail. Nienhuis said initial reports suggest he may have had methamphetamines and PCP in his system.

The sheriff also encouraged anyone who was threatened by the man and left before law enforcement arrived to contact their office.