A large White Plains Police response closed Waller Avenue between Maple and Carhart avenues in downtown White Plains on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Officers in body armor and helmets could be seen on the block and in an adjacent parking lot.
White Plains Public Safety Commissioner Wade Hardy was also present. He indicated to the USA TODAY Network that the activity was a response to a call that necessitated a security of all the apartments at an unnamed building on the block.
He was not ruling out the possibility that the report was a swatting incident, which typically involves a false emergency call intended to illicit a major law enforcement response.
"It could be something like a call comes in that says, 'I heard gunshots next door, 'click' [they hang
up]," Hardy told The Journal News/lohud.com.
White Plains Police are not unaccustomed to swatting calls. Roads near Heather Lane were closed after a heavy police response to a swatting incident there Thursday, December 4th of last year.
By about 1:30 p.m., some police vehicles had left the scene, and local foot traffic was being allowed at the end of the block near Maple Avenue.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: White Plains Police turnout major response, security sweep. See where
