Standoff Shuts Down Hickstown Road for Hours

A standoff with a man who barricaded himself inside his Erial home Tuesday morning, at times shielding himself with a juvenile and threatening that he was armed, reportedly ended without major incident several hours after the local SWAT team responded to the scene.

Police shut down Hickstown Road between Erial Road and Bromley Drive for several hours while resolving the matter.

The standoff began at around 5:35 a.m. when police went to the home on the 1100 block of Hicktown Road to serve a criminal warrant on 50-year-old Anthony Giordano in connection with a prior dispute there, according to Gloucester Township Police Capt. Anthony Minosse.

As responding officers approached the home, Giordano broke out a window to the residence and yelled to police to get off his property, threatening that he was armed with a weapon and did not intend to come out, Minosse said.

Police made contact with the suspect by telephone at that point, and summoned their Special Response Team, which includes crisis negotiators.

Police maintained contact with Giordano by telephone and through the window throughout the standoff, according to Minosse, but the 50-year-old man repeatedly hid behind a young juvenile he was holding, calling out for police to shoot him, during the two-hour ordeal.

After roughly two hours of negotiations, Giordano exited the Hickstown Road home behind his brother, 53-year-old John Giordano, also a resident of the home.

As John Giordano was being taken into custody, Anthony Giordano allegedly kicked an officer while resisting arrest before being placed under arrest with the assistance of a police K-9.

Anthony Giordano was charged with terroristic threats, aggravated assault on police, endangering the welfare of a minor, obstruction of justice and resisting arrest for his alleged actions Tuesday morning. He was transported to an unspecified area hospital for medical evaluation, according to police, then lodged in Camden County Jail on $50,000 bail.

John Giordano was charged with obstruction of justice and released on his own recognizance on a summons, Minosse said.

No police officers nor the juvenile were injured during the incident, police said.