Mahwah 911 Dispatcher Helps Talk Man Into Giving Up His Gun: Cops

MAHWAH, NJ — A 911 dispatcher and local police helped defuse a situation where a man fired a gun several times inside his township home Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The 57-year-old man called 911 at 4:17 p.m. to report that someone tried to break into his home through the basement and that a gun was fired inside, Capt. Stephen Jaffe said. The man told 911 dispatcher Nicole Mullen he shot a gun off toward the basement door, he said.

Mullen advised him to put the gun down and head outside once police officers arrived at the home, Jaffe said. The man went outside holding the gun in one hand and a cellphone in the other, he said.

The man was in the doorway and listened to officers tell him to put the weapon down, and police took him into protective custody, Jaffe said.

Officers searched the home and found no one else inside. Other nearby residences were checked and everyone in them was safe and uninjured, Jaffe said.

A preliminary investigation revealed there was no evidence that anyone entered, or tried to enter, the home, the captain said.

Police found another weapon in the bedroom and took possession of it.

The man was taken to New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus for an evaluation.

Authorities are continuing their investigation and the man will be "charged appropriately" once it is complete, Jaffe said.

Jaffe thanked the Bergen County SWAT Team, who responded to the house, Mahwah police officers, Lt. Scott Cherven, Detective Sgt. Kevin Hebert, Sgt. Michael Blondin, detectives Eric Larsen and Michael Grassi, and officers John Lange, Klaus Stewen and Thomas Solimano, along with dispatchers Lauren Tomitsch, Andrew Hartophilis, and Mullen, who responded and helped defuse the situation.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com