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FDU Sheltered In Place Following Incident

UPDATE: A man who was seized following a SWAT standoff at his Hackensack home had gone after another man with a handgun and a machete earlier in the day in Teaneck, prompting a lockdown of FDU and a local high school, authorities said Thursday.

Bergen County Regional SWAT

Bergen County Regional SWAT

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine
Hackensack police blocked the street while the tactical teams did their work.

Hackensack police blocked the street while the tactical teams did their work.

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine
Bergen County Regional SWAT team members in Hackensack.

Bergen County Regional SWAT team members in Hackensack.

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine

Andrew Deininger, 48, chased the other man through part of the Fairleigh Dickinson University campus following a dispute near the corner of Beverly and River roads around 2 p.m. Wednesday, Teaneck Police Chief Glenn O'Reilly said.

"Although no specific threat to the campus community was known at the time, the FDU campus was placed into a lockdown for the safety of the students and staff," O'Reilly said.

The same was done at the nearby Bergen Academies in Hackensack.

Two New Jersey State Police choppers circled the area as troopers, Bergen County sheriff's officers and police from Teaneck and Hackensack fanned out in search of their suspect.

A Bergen County Sheriff's K9 unit was also among the responders.

Police interviewed the victim, who "was acquainted" with Deininger, a former Hasbrouck Heights resident who investigators said had recently moved to Hackensack.

They found a CO2 pellet gun that had been tossed behind a building next to the Hackensack River -- but no Deininger, O'Reilly said.

The lockdowns were lifted after police concluded that he was no longer in the area, the chief said.

Shortly after 7:30 p.m., a Bergen County Regional SWAT team and county Crisis Negotiation Team accompanied police to Deininger's home near the corner of Main Street and Ross Avenue in Hackensack.

He barricaded himself inside but surrendered peacefully a little over an hour later.

Police took custody of Deininger, who was brought to Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus for an evaluation. He remained there Thursday pending transfer to the county jail.

Deininger is charged with aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and various weapons offenses.

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