Man armed with machete and nailgun engaged in 5 hours standoff with police

Man armed with machete and nailgun engaged in 5 hours standoff with police

ABERDEEN, NJ – A nearly five-hour police standoff with an armed suspect in Aberdeen ended peacefully when the man was taken into custody on Saturday.

Criminal charges are pending against 45-year-old Wilbert Hickman.

Members of the Aberdeen Township Police Department responded to a home on the 50 block of Wilson Avenue shortly before 8:30 a.in. Saturday morning and found Hickman inside the home’s garage, armed with a machete, a sword, a nail gun, and other dangerous materials such as lighter fluid, according to the preliminary investigation.

The police response quickly led to the deployment of the Monmouth County Emergency Response Team (MOCERT) and the Monmouth County Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), and communication with Hicklnan was subsequently established and maintained.

Following lengthy negotiations, Hicklnan was taken into custody shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday, after which he was immediately taken to a local medical facility for evaluation and treatment.