HIGHLAND MILLS – A New Jersey man kept police at bay for three hours while he threatened suicide and cut his hand and wrist with a box cutter.
The incident began around 10:19 Sunday morning as the 31-year-old was in the parking lot behind St. Patrick’s Church in Highland Mills. As a result, the CCD school was on lockdown for about an hour and the noon services at St. Patrick’s were cancelled.
The man, whose name the police did not make public, ran into the woods and City of Newburgh Police crisis negotiator Lt. Richard Carion, was called in. After three hours, the man was taken into custody without incident and transported to Orange Regional Medical Center in Wallkill for treatment of severe self-inflicted lacerations to his right hand and wrist.
Police said the man, with past mental illness, had no ties to the Woodbury community.
Agencies involved in the incident were Town of Woodbury Police, State Police, and their aviation unit, Town of Warwick K-9 unit, City of Newburgh crisis negotiator, Orange County Mobile Mental Health, Town of Woodbury Community Ambulance, Mobile Life Support Services and the Regional Tactical Team comprised of the towns of Woodbury, Tuxedo and Chester and the Village of Harriman.
