Hatboro standoff forced residents to endure hours of uncertainty
HATBORO, Pa. (CBS) -- A standoff between a man and police took place in the heart of Hatboro's downtown Wednesday.
Neighbors, parents, school students and more endured hours of uncertainty and disruption during the standoff as they were instructed to shelter in place.
The suspect's apartment on the second level of a store front was cordoned off with police tape and the windows blown out from swat team flash bangs.
Neighbors and business owners say this kind of activity doesn't happen in Hatboro.
A video captured by a Hatboro resident showed the heart of Hatboro's quaint and quiet business district transform into the scene of a 14 hour police standoff.
"This is one of the craziest things that's ever happened here," Mark Amos, a business owner, said.
For hours neighbors were forced to stay inside their homes and shelter in place.
"Just a little nerve wracking," Cassidy McKelvey, of Hatboro, said. "Woke up to all the helicopters this morning."
Clark and Yalena Abbott live only a block over from where the standoff happened. Road closures almost caused them to miss a special occasion.
"I was like, 'I hope we can get out so we can leave for my wife's 30th birthday,'" Clark Abbot said. "I was praying everything would resolve calmly, which it did thankfully."
Amos owns a printing shop doors down from the suspect's apartment. He opened nearly four hours late.
"The closure pretty much encompassed this entire area, so, I mean it's a half a day," Amos said.
Hatboro-Horsham schools closed for the day as well, which was an inconvenience for parents.
"I could've been at work, they should've been at school," Mark Breuer, a Hatboro resident, said.
"I work from home, so it was a bit much having all three with me while trying to work," McKelvey said.
Residents say they are grateful for the timely and aggressive response from their local police.
