A standoff forced a Long Island neighborhood and nearby schools into an hours-long lockdown after a man assaulted a teenage girl in her home and chased her outside, then barricaded himself inside the house, police said.
The standoff in Woodbury began just after 9 a.m. Tuesday, after Nassau County police responded to a 911 call and found the teen girl in trouble.
The girl, about 14 or 15 years old, was "completely naked, came running from the back of a house, chased by another male,” said Suffolk Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
The police commissioner said the 25-year-old man then ran into a home on Roseanne Drive. Shortly after, the suburban home was surrounded by police units, including heavily armed SWAT units, police said. The standoff lasted well into Tuesday evening.
"We are now attempting to make conversation with him through a hostage negotiation team," said Ryder.
Police said they did not believe the man was armed, and investigators said he had been a squatter at a home in foreclosure. Neighbors living next to the home were evacuated, while others in the area were ordered to simply stay indoors.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
Police said she was assaulted, suffering cuts and bruises to her arms. The police commissioner said it appeared the teen had come in contact with the man prior to Tuesday, but would not elaborate on the nature of the relationship between the teen and man who barricaded himself in the home for more than seven hours.
News
The standoff ended after 5 p.m. when police brought the man, identified as Andreas Omar, into custody, with charges pending against him. The police commissioner said there had been several calls to the house for domestic incidents in the past, but the girl had not been involved previously.
"We’re attempting to make sure she’s taken care of, that’s our priority," said Ryder. "At the residence, we are making sure the resident is contained, and when the time is right we will make entry."
