Two Children Rescued After Apparent Hostage Situation In Bloomingdale, NJ
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A SWAT team rushed into a home in Passaic County in New Jersey Tuesday morning after a report that a mother was holding her two children hostage.
Chopper 2 flew over the scene along Reeve Avenue in Bloomingdale as officers surrounded a woman outside a home just before noon.
The standoff ended with the peaceful surrender of Susan O'Connor, 48, and the safe collection of her 7-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl, CBS 2's Tony Aiello reported.
"The kids are fine, thankfully they appear in good spirits and at least outwardly did not appear too affected by what they dealt with," Bloomingdale Police chief, Joe Borell said.
The Passaic County Sheriff's Office SWAT team joined Bloomingdale cops at the scene following a report of shots fire and children being held hostage.
The law enforcement response to the scene involved a major show of force, but behind the scenes 911 dispatcher Mike Finello stayed on the phone with O'Connor for 90 minutes.
"Getting to her level and trying to get her mind off what was going on. We talked about camping, we talked about our kids, we talked about being good parents and being responsible," Finello said.
Police did not say what sparked the standoff but it ended with O'Connor agreeing to surrender under specific instructions from a hostage negotiator that were communicated through Finello.
"Once those instructions were explained to her everything happened very quickly. At the end she walked out and her kids were fine and I breathed a sigh of relief," Finello said.
Police entered the home and found weapons. Investigators are still waiting to determine appropriate charges.
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