A Hackensack man remained behind bars Monday after attempting to strangle someone, then barricading himself inside his apartment with a 6-year-old child and a gun, police in the northern New Jersey city said.
The child was unharmed in the incident, which unfolded Saturday when a 911 caller informed police at about 8:40 p.m. that Kevin M. Lovett, 50, had choked someone and threatened the person with a knife, according to the Hackensack Police Department.
The victim was outside with a small cut to the neck when police arrived, the Newark Star-Ledger reported. She refused treatment and directed police to the apartment.
When it was all over, Lovett was in Bergen County Jail, charged with aggravated assault by strangulation, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, child abuse, and two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon.
Lovett refused to let cops in, and that combined with the rumored gun got the Bergen County Regional S.W.A.T. team involved, the Newark Star-Ledger reported. S.W.A.T. breached the door, fetched the child and arrested Lovett.
Officers also retrieved two unregistered guns, a loaded Taurus 9mm and an unloaded A.A. Arms AP9, the Daily Voice detailed. In addition, authorities seized a cache of high-capacity magazines and ammunition, officials said.
Hackensack Police Detective Capt. Darrin DeWitt praised the cooperation, telling the Daily Voice, “The prompt collaboration between our agencies minimized the potential of additional, perhaps serious, injuries in this unfortunate incident.”
