A typically quiet Long Island neighborhood was anything but on Tuesday, after a dramatic police standoff at a home brought armored police vehicles, a SWAT team and more first responders.
A mother said that her son had been battling mental health problems and had called 911 on himself. Officers arrived at the home on Walnut Street in East Farmingdale around noon, when the mother wasn't home. As soon as she returned, she saw police had surrounded her house.
The mother was with police as they approached the house and tried talking to him to get him to come outside, when a loud noise was heard. Officers thought it was a gunshot, which sent everyone ducking for cover. It led to a lockdown and a nearby school to change its dismissal procedure.
A standoff ensued as the son barricaded himself inside. Footage from Chopper 4 showed SWAT team members around the outside of the house.
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The standoff lasted for hours, until the tense situation ended around 4 p.m. when the son ultimately surrendered to police. His identity was not made available.
The mother and police confirmed that no guns were found inside the home, and police could not confirm that any shots had been fired. The mother said she had been trying for some time to get her son the right doctors and medications that could help with his condition, and keep him longer at health services centers, but she was unable to do so.
