Police respond to 'possible hostage situation' in Garden City Park but family found safe, cops say

A 911 call to Nassau police Tuesday afternoon reporting a possible armed hostage situation at a Garden City Park home resulted in a swarm of heavily armed police officers responding, but the family inside wasn't being held hostage and no weapons were found, police said.

"Nobody was in any danger and there were no weapons found," Det. Sgt. Richard LeBrun said at the scene. "We did not find any firearms, but right now we are continuing the investigation."

Police received a 911 call about 12:30 p.m. for a "possible hostage situation" and a weapon inside at a home on First Place in Garden City Park, LeBrun said.

Officers from the Third Precinct, Bureau of Special Operations and Emergency Service Unit responded and evacuated the family -- a woman, man and young child, police said.

"The family was able to come out and speak with our officers. At this point, we determined there was no immediate outside threat," LeBrun said. "The Bureau of Special Operations continued to go into the residence. They searched every room -- up, down, first floor, second floor and basement. They found no weapons at all."

LeBrun said police were not categorizing the incident as "swatting" -- a prank in which a fake emergency is phoned in with the anticipation of a heavy police SWAT team response -- but said the investigation is ongoing.

"At this point, the family is cooperating with police," LeBrun said. "We're trying to determine the origin of the call."

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.