Man held at Indian restaurant after standoff

A man armed with a semi-automatic handgun was arrested from an Indian restaurant in US' Vermont state after a standoff with police, a media report said.

Workers and customers in the restaurant in Barre town panicked and took cover during the 45-minute standoff, the Times Argus reported.

Sunny Singh, who works at Rickie's Indian Restaurant and Shell Station, said the arrested man was a regular at the restaurant that serves Punjabi delicacies.

Shafali Saini, another Indian-American who works at the restaurant, said the suspect used to be a "really nice friendly person".

The man, identified as Henry Premont, was taken into custody after a police crisis negotiator spoke to him on telephone. He finally surrendered himself and his weapon.