Police: Pedestrian in Downtown Newark Did not Have Explosives

State Police and officers from Newark responded early Wednesday evening to a report of a man with explosives strapped to his chest. 

Three helicopters were seen briefly hovering over downtown Newark around 5:30 pm. State Police armed with machine guns were also seen patrolling Penn Station around that time. 

Sgt. Eugenio Gonzalez of the Newark Police Department said police received a call from a concerned citizen about the man, who was spotted near Hamilton Street and McCarter Highway. 

Officers from the Emergency Services Unit responded and determined the man in fact did not have explosives, Gonzalez said. 

"[A]t no time was any city resident in danger," Gonzalez said in a statement.