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Officers responded to a home Preakness Avenue home just before 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, on reports that 27-year-old Thomas M. Pfefferkorn, was expressing suicidal thoughts, Wayne Police Chief Joseph Rooney said.
Upon arrival, officers encountered the man’s father, Thomas P. Pfefferkorn, standing outside the home. The younger Pfefferkorn retreated into the home, reappeared in the doorway wielding a large knife, and waved it at officers, police said.
He then retreated upstairs and tapped the knife against a window. Officers immediately called for backup, established a perimeter, and closed Preakness Avenue. Crisis negotiators from Wayne Police, Passaic County SWAT, and later Bergen County Regional SWAT worked throughout the night to communicate with Thomas M., but he repeatedly refused to exit the residence.
After roughly 15 hours, SWAT officers deployed gas into the home, leading to the man’s peaceful surrender. He was transported to a medical facility for evaluation and will face charges of Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose and Certain Person Not to Possess Weapons upon release, according to police.
During a search of the residence, detectives discovered multiple firearms and illegal high-capacity magazines that belonged to Thomas P. Pfefferkorn, 62, despite his earlier claim to police that there were no firearms in the home. He was charged with unlawful possession of the magazines and released on a summons, Rooney said.
Wayne Police, Passaic County SWAT, Bergen County Regional SWAT, and St. Joseph’s Health paramedics worked together to ensure a safe resolution to the standoff.
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