Fresno police initially thought they were responding to a stolen car with the driver still in it. But it turned out instead to be a man who had allegedly doused his own car in gasoline.

According to information from police, the man was about to light his car on fire as officers pulled up behind him in an alleyway shortly before 3:30 a.m. Monday.

The man reportedly ran from police, and then barricaded himself in his apartment on East San Ramon Avenue in the El Dorado Park neighborhood, west of Fresno State.

Fresno police said they talked to the man, trying to get him to come outside. Police said the man replied that he still wasn’t coming out and the man also reportedly commented that he had the right to burn his own car. According to the police, the man was depressed and wanted to go home to Iraq.

Police officers who spoke to The Collegian said they had stopped him earlier in the night and cited him for driving an unsafe vehicle. The car was missing its front bumper and headlights.

Fresno firefighters checked the car to make sure it was safe to move. It was then towed away. According to police, it was towed for blocking the alleyway and for public safety.

Fresno police Lt. Mark Hudson said officers were finally able to talk with the man and determined he did not meet the criteria for a mental health hold.