A suspect who was threatening neighbors in a Tenderloin/Union Square hotel with a knife caused a block of Taylor Street to be cordoned off by the SFPD for several hours on Sunday.

An alert went out Sunday around 1 p.m. for the public to avoid the 400 block of Taylor Street between Geary and O'Farrell Streets. It has since emerged, as KRON4 reports, that the situation involved a woman with a knife in a room at the Hotel Spero (405 Taylor Street), who had been threatening others.

A standoff and negotiation ensued which did not end until the suspect allegedly set a fire in the room and police knocked down the door. The woman then allegedly slashed the two officers with a knife before being subdued.

Confusingly, KRON4 also reported, "The woman went quiet for about 20 minutes when police arrived on the scene before throwing her phone and a knife out the window." So, apparently, there were two knives?

After the fire was set, smoke was reportedly pouring out of that same window on the twelfth floor.

The Chronicle reported via the SFPD that the suspect was taken into custody at 6:50 p.m. — and a 511 alert reported the incident was resolved as of 6:47 p.m.

Hotel guests had to be evacuated while the situation was being diffused.

The 236-room Hotel Spero, which is home to Jasper's Corner Tap on the street level, was renovated in 2018 and is one of a number of Union Square hotels that have changed hands in recent years. It sold to new investors in July 2022, as the SF Business Times reported.

The situation remains under investigation, and anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444.

Photo via Yelp