SWAT Standoff: Elmwood Park Man Throws AC Unit, Flaming T-Shirts Out Window Before Surrender

Syed Uddin, 37, of Franklin Street was "shouting obscenities on the porch of the residence and appeared to be under the influence of some type of substance" when police arrived shortly before 9:30 p.m. Sunday, May 7, Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno said.

They tried talking with him, but Uddin ran inside, locked the door and continued shouting at them from a second-floor window while bashing the wall with a metal object, the chief said.

Uddin was known to police, having been arrested multiple times over more than a decade for offenses that include assaulting and spitting on police.

He'd also been wounded in a 2011 triple shooting in Paterson that left another man dead and a stabbing in Elmwood Park three years later.

Family members tried to help diffuse the situation overnight Sunday into Monday, but Uddin began swinging the object at them, Foligno said.

So police cleared the house, established a perimeter with help from their colleagues in Fair Lawn and summoned a Bergen County Regional SWAT team.

Uddin at one point pushed an air conditioner out of the upper window and tossed t-shirts that had been lit on fire onto the front lawn, the chief said.

Elmwood Park firefighters responded and remained on standby in case they were needed.

Uddin eventually emerged of his own accord shortly after 12:30 a.m. and was seized by members of the tactical unit.

He was taken by ambulance, in custody, to Bergen New Bridge Medical Center with no injury to him, police or civilians, Foligno said.

Uddin eventually will be transferred to the Bergen County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on charges of making terroristic threats.

Foligno cited the work of his officers, the SWAT team, Fair Lawn police, the county sheriff's office and Elmwood Park firefighters and EMS.

"We're thankful that this situation ended peacefully and that no one was injured," the chief said.

Jo Fehl took the photos and contributed to this story.

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