Closter — The Bergen County SWAT team could be seen lurking in the shadows of Taylor Drive late Sunday night. The police presence in the neighborhood turned out to be an unfounded response to the sound of gunshots.
"The first report was that someone heard a gunshot and people saw what they thought were muzzle flashes coming from the windows," said Chief David Berrian. Although the scene was still being investigated at press time, the police assumed the flashes to be fireworks reflecting off the window of the residence in question.
During the commotion, the homeowners of the suspected residence were unaware of the scrutiny their house was under.
"They never saw us outside and only answered the phone 20 minutes ago," said Berrian close to midnight. Alpine Drive resident Pete Schaller said he heard "three booms" around 9:30 p.m. "Then I looked outside and I saw the fireworks about 10 feet above the tree line," he said.
Other residents, however, had never seen the fireworks and only heard the explosions, resulting in "more than eight 911 calls" reporting gunshots, according to Patrolman Tim Conway.
However, once the residents answered the calls of the SWAT team and opened their doors to police, the scene was cleared.
"The SWAT team checked out the house to verify everything was OK and we cleared the scene," said Conway, adding that such response is standard procedure when gunshots are reported.
Berrian said that, had fireworks been found, "it would have led us in a different direction but not changed our response."
Given the muddy condition of surrounding lawns and darkness of night, Conway said that evidence of firework debris would be searched for in the morning. In the meantime, no arrests had been made as Sunday became Monday, and residents could return to bed with the fear of gunshots in their quiet neighborhood quelled.
