Search For Suspect Continues Following Wild Police Chase In Bergen County
FORT LEE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Two people are under arrest and a third is still at large after a wild chase through Bergen County on Monday night.
Police said it started with an attempted armed abduction in Cliffside Park.
Police said three men in a sport-utility vehicle drove to Cliffside Park to abduct a 36-year-old man because he owed them cash, CBS 2's Weijia Jiang reported.
"At least one of the suspects claimed they had purchased something from the victim. The other two suspects allegedly accompanied him to come and get the money back and it turned physical and got violent," Cliffside Park Police Chief Donald Keane told CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez.
The suspects struck the victim with a weapon and then let him go and he called 911, Jiang reported.
Officers pursued the SUV with Florida license plates and arrested two people -- identified as 33-year-old Luis Brea and 32-year-old Anthony Espinal Inoa, Sanchez reported. A third man ran after the vehicle crashed around 8:30 p.m., prompting a manhunt in the community along Jones Road, where Fort Lee and Leonia share a border, Jiang reported.
Search For Suspect Continues Following Wild Police Chase In Bergen County
"I just saw a speeding car coming by and police right behind it," Fort Lee resident Mike Davis said. "We heard a bang and that was it."
"It was like a war zone here, probably 30-40 police cars," resident Steve Gerson said. "It was scary. I thought there was going to be a shootout right in the street here."
"It's scary," resident Gail Gerson said. "We just feel like no matter where you live now, you could live in a bedroom community like Leonia, but it's happening all over."
For several hours, homes were put on lockdown as officers went door-to-door, warning people that a possibly armed and dangerous man was on the run.
"I cannot go anywhere," Fort Lee resident Aliya Shams said. "I just parked my car in my parking lot and police told me to go inside quickly right away."
Police eventually lifted the lockdown, but told residents to be on the lookout for a suspect and a firearm that may have been tossed aside.
Officers with K-9 units arrived at the scene Tuesday morning to continue searching for the remaining suspect.
The two suspects who were arrested were being held at the Bergen County Jail on $500,000 bail. Police did not immediately release the name of the third suspect, but were working on a description, Sanchez reported.
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