A small traffic accident turned into an hours-long standoff in a sewage tunnel in north Birmingham, according to police.

The ordeal began when a Birmingham police officer responded about 10 a.m. to a call of a wreck in the 2800 block of Lewisburg Road. The crash happened when a private vehicle backed into a public works truck.

There appeared to be an argument taking place between those involved in the wreck.

When the officer arrived, a man was already armed with a shotgun. He went into the sewage tunnel where he remained for more than two hours.

The man did not threaten police but they were afraid he would harm himself.

According to Birmingham police radio traffic, a woman in the car with him walked away after the accident.

The armed man at some point during the incident called the car owner and said he was “in trouble.”

Police told that person to tell the suspect to throw out the shotgun, but that did not happen.

Officers were stationed at both ends of the tunnel throughout the incident. A negotiator was called in.

Shortly before 12:30 p.m., the man emerged still holding the shotgun. Officers deployed a non-lethal tactical tool to take the man into custody without injury.

The incident happened just a couple of hours after another standoff with an armed man on Birmingham’s Southside.

“This was the second standoff today where an individual was armed and our officers were able to take that person into custody without any great harm being caused,’’ said Officer Truman Fitzgerald said. “These two calls highlight the great training and restraint our officers possess.”