New Jersey Police Arrest Armed Man, Rescue Woman After Possible Hostage Situation
(Photo : DOMINICK REUTER/AFP via Getty Images)
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A police car is parked near the campus of East Brunswick High School after the school day on February 22, 2018, in East Brunswick, New Jersey. / AFP PHOTO / DOMINICK REUTER / TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Catherine TRIOMPHE

In connection with a potential hostage situation in northern New Jersey on Monday afternoon, sources said the arrest was carried out in Bayonne. Shortly after 4:30 pm, Chopper 4 was in the vicinity of Secaucus when armed police responded to a residence around 3:00 pm on the 7th and Clarendon intersection, about a block away from Route 3.

Right now it's unknown whether anyone was harmed. Sources said that a man was pulled over at the intersection of Avenue E and 32nd Street and arrested at approximately 5 p.m. in the white Nissan in nearby Bayonne. Sources further indicate that a woman, described as a hostage, has been found within the vehicle by the police.

Suspect arrested after an apparent hostage situation

Police with firearms and bulletproof vests focused their attention on a home located in the center of the block, where at least four individuals were securely taken away. Neighbors claimed they weren't hostages and that they were folks who were living in the same building. 

While sources told NBC New York that the house of Secaucus was never a hostage situation, police feared it might be and so they decided to surround the house. After Secaucus police discovered that there was no hostage situation within the building, they started pinging the man's phone and the information was then shared with Bayonne Police who arrested them.

Guns were drawn and the SWAT team was summoned for an apparent hostage situation, and a man compelled to hide people was brought into custody for his involvement in this incident, CBS2 Nick Caloway said. Matthew Montgomery, a resident, said, "My wife woke me up. I was still sleeping, actually. She said, 'Matty, there's cops out front with big guns.'"

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Residents were advised to evacuate during a domestic incident

The cops rushed to this area with weapons drawn from neighbors like Montgomery. Linda Higgins hosted a backyard pool party with friends and family along the block. She lives close to where the cops and the victim searched. For more than an hour, they were instructed to get in and seek shelter.

Higgins said, "At first, it was a little exciting. 'Oh, the cops are outside.' It's like 'Wow,' and then it got a little scary." There was an order to abandon their house. Secaucus Fire Battalion Chief Larry Marciano was off of the job and visited friends in the area. The police checked the area, but the gunman and victim allegedly had already gone.

Later in Bayonne, police claimed that a man and woman were located together in a car. The woman is safe and without any injury, while the suspect was arrested by the police.

The neighbors rattled back to Clarendon Street. Police said that the suspect has mental health issues. He was charged with assault and other charges. The name of the victim or the suspect was not immediately disclosed by the police. Per Daily Voice, the inquiry is ongoing; and it is still being investigated if the victim was held against her and whether the suspect was armed during the encounter.

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