James O'Rourke and Thane Grauel jorourke@lohud.com

20-year-old Nanuet man found with BB gun after a 4-hour standoff with police

Police made a "tactical entry" into the home at 4 p.m.

No injuries were reported

The man was taken to an area hospital for observation

NANUET – A 20-year-old Nanuet man was hospitalized Friday after barricading himself inside a Babcock Avenue home with what police thought was a firearm.

The man, whose identity was not released, was said to have surrendered peacefully to officers who forced their way into the home. No injuries were reported.

Sgt. Glen Cummings said police arrived around noon at 14 Babcock Ave. after receiving a report the man had posted an image of what appeared to be a black handgun on Instagram and threatened to harm himself.

"We responded to the location and tried to track down the man who was making the threat," Cummings said. "He did not answer his phone or make any overtures to make contact with us."

Heavily armed Clarkstown officers with the department's Tactical Team were posted near the home along with crisis negotiators. Cummings said additional telephone calls and attempts to contact the man through a P.A. system were ignored.

"In a situation like this, you want to give it time. There's no sense in putting anyone in peril if you don't have to," Cummings said. "Patience is paramount in something like this."

By 4 p.m., officers were forced to take action.

"We made a tactical entry into the home and found the person there," Cummings said. "We did not encounter any resistance, fortunately. However, we did recover a BB gun, which looked like an authentic pistol."

The 20-year-old was taken into custody and transported to an area hospital for observation.

Twitter: @JORourkeT800