Gunman Halts Bay Bridge Traffic

A shootout between police and a fleeing gunman closed the nation's busiest toll bridge at the start of Thursday morning's rush hour, causing a huge backup of frustrated commuters.

Westbound traffic into San Francisco began flowing again on the upper deck of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge about an hour after the 5 a.m. shutdown, but the backup of cars was expected to take some time to clear.

The suspect was wounded in the head, but it was unclear if he shot himself or was hit by police gunfire, according to police Lt. Dave Robinson. The gunman was taken to San Francisco General Hospital. A nursing supervisor said he was in critical condition but was expected to survive.

Officers had responded to reports of a man on foot trying to halt cars on the span, which carries 280,000 vehicles each day.

"He was trying to stop cars, and one person said he actually put his hands on his car," Robinson said.