Welfare check turns into police standoff in Wayne, NJ

🚨Police were called after a man was expressing "suicidal thoughts"

🚨The man was holed up in a home for over 12 hours, police said

🚨Officials said the man's father was not honest about the availability of guns in the house

WAYNE — A welfare check on a Wayne man turned into a lengthy standoff with two SWAT teams that started late Wednesday afternoon.

Wayne Police Capt. Daniel Daly said they were called to a home on Preakness Avenue just before 6 p.m. after Thomas M. Pfefferkorn, 27, began to express “suicidal thoughts.” When police arrived, Pfefferkorn ran into the house and then reappeared in the doorway waving a large knife at the officers, Daly said.

He went back into the house and stood at a window with the knife in an upstairs window tapping the glass with it, according to Daly. Pfefferkorn’s father, Thomas P. Pfefferkorn, told police there was also a cross bow in the house.

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Weapons in the house

The Passaic County SWAT and hostage negotiations unit and crisis intervention personnel were called to the house but Thomas M. Pfefferkorn refused to negotiate about ending the standoff, according to Daly.

After 12 hours, the Bergen County Regional SWAT team relieved Passaic County, and after several hours Pfefferkorn stopped communicating all together, according to Daly. Gas was deployed and Pfefferkorn surrendered to police. He was taken to a medical facility for an evaluation.

Daly said Thomas M. Pfefferkorn is expected to be charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and being a certain person not to possess weapons.

Police went inside the house and found multiple firearms belonging to Thomas P. Pfefferkorn that Daly said were left accessible to his son despite telling police during the incident that there were no firearms in the house. Illegal high-capacity magazines with the firearms were also found, according to Daly.

Thomas P. Pfefferkorn was taken into custody and released.

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