SWAT swarms Mercer County neighborhood as Route 33 closure sparks fear and confusion

🚨Route 33 was shut down for nearly 17 hours

🚨Heavy police, SWAT, and emergency crews in Hamilton neighborhood

🚨Negotiations lasted for hours with a man with a rifle having a mental health crisis

HAMILTON (Mercer) — A large police presence closed a Mercer County highway for nearly 17 hours on Wednesday night and Thursday morning while police negotiated with a disturbed man armed with a rifle.

Hamilton Township police closed Route 33 between Route 295 and Nottingham Way around 5 p.m. Wednesday after a man barricated himself inside a home in the 2500 block of Nottingham. The Hamilton Police Division SWAT Team and the Hamilton Police Division Crisis Negotiators began talks with the man.

Residents in the surrounding homes were evacuated as a precaution and to give negotiators space.

The man was taken into custody just after 11 a.m. Thursday and taken to a hospital for an evaluation. No residents or members of law enforcement were injured, according to police. Nottingham Way was closed for several more hours to allow for the completion of an investiagtion.

Police did not disclose the identity of the man, whether he would be charged with any crime, or if anyone else was inside the house.

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School buses affected by standoff

During negotiations, police did not disclose any information about the incident, which led to social media speculation. Eyewitnesses described a large police presence, including police, fire, ambulances, and a SWAT team, all in the area of Vincent Avenue.

Hamilton's Nottingham High School said buses could be late or not arrive at all because of road closures

It was the second major incident in Hamilton in two days. A young woman in her 20s was found dead inside an apartment on Bradford Avenue in Hamilton (Mercer) on Tuesday morning. Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta Marbrey said officers went to the apartment around 7 a.m. for a welfare check and made the discovery. The woman’s identity was not disclosed and no one has been charged with her death.

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