Standoff Persists In Trenton; Woman, Child Killed
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A hostage situation persisted in Trenton, N.J., Saturday morning, after a woman and a child were found dead inside a home.
As of Saturday afternoon, the hostage situation had been in progress for over 24 hours in the 200 block of Grand Street in Trenton, Syma Chowdhry of KYW-TV, Philadelphia reported.
The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said negotiations were being conducted. SWAT team members were seen going in and out of the building from Friday afternoon through Saturday morning.
Police had a robot on scene ready to enter the apartment Saturday, and state police sad an arson bomb unit was also on the scene.
Authorities gave the suspect a meal upon his request.
The hostages were believed to be two teens, and possibly a toddler.
The standoff began Friday afternoon, when police received a call asking to check on the welfare of those in the apartment. Sources told KYW-TV that upon arrival, police found the woman dead – possibly for days – along with the woman's 13-year-old child.
The suspect was armed, and police pulled back when he brandished a gun.
A friend of the suspect told KYW they both hung out Thursday night, and he could not believe the situation.
"I'm shocked, because I didn't expect that from him. I mean, I heard about his temper, but I didn't expect nothing, like, he was talking to my mom like nothing happened. Like, he was playing around; he was like, nothing happened – nothing at all, nothing out of the ordinary. I'm just in shock, because he was with his wife in the house, girlfriend's in the house," said the man, who did not want to be identified.
The man said the suspect goes by the nickname of Skip. The relationship between the man and the victims was not immediately learned, but some sources said the woman was his wife or girlfriend, and the children were hers.
Nearby homes were evacuated and Grand Street was blocked off.
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