Nobody’s home: SWAT search for robbers in Rahway ends empty-handed

RAHWAY — A police standoff after a reported holdup outside the Union County Performing Arts Center caused tense moments on Friday but did not turn up any suspects.

The Union County SWAT team was called late Friday afternoon after a women reported being accosted by four armed robbers who then ran into a home on Main Street, according to CBS New York.

News 12 New Jersey reported that the nearby Rahway Kitty Hall Cat Cafe was evacuated for a short time.

After entering the home, police found no one inside. A search of the neighborhood and the riverbank also turned up nothing, according to NBC 4 New York

Rahway police on Saturday morning had not issued an alert for suspects on their Facebook or Twitter accounts or via Nixle.

Neither the Union County Prosecutor's Office nor Rahway police have returned requests seeking comment.

A week earlier, heavily armed police descended on a Lakewood neighborhood after a  man told someone on the street that his home had been invaded by three armed men.  A day later, the same man called police to report that the assailants had returned.

Both reports were deemed unfounded by police and the man was taken to a local hospital for a medical and psychological evaluation.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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