5 Charged In Assault That Drew SWAT Team To Hoboken: Officials

HOBOKEN, NJ — Five people, including a juvenile, were arrested in Hoboken on Sunday in connection with an incident outside a short-term rental property, officials said Monday.

Hoboken police said that around 8 a.m. Sunday, they were called to the rental on the 500 block of Garden Street on reports of a "disturbance."

Outside, they found an adult victim of an aggravated assault that had occurred on the sidewalk, they said.

As police investigated, they received information indicating that someone might be barricaded inside the rental with hostages, so the Hudson Regional SWAT Team responded, officials said.

Officials determined that there was no such threat. However, as reported first in Patch on Sunday, several streets in the area were closed for three hours.

Three adults from Indiana, a man from New York, and a 17-year-old juvenile from West New York were arrested in connection with the incident, police said. All were charged with aggravated assault.

The adults charged with assault were:

• Oscar Cuatlacuatl-Xique, 18, of Indianapolis, who was also charged with having prohibited weapons and devices, police said.
• Erick Rojas-Ahuatl, 20, of Indianapolis.
• Ismael Cuatlacuatl-Xique, 18, of Indianapolis.
• Omar Ponce-Simon, 19, of New York.

All four adults were taken to the Hudson County Correctional Center, said Mayor Emily Jabbour.

A Hoboken public safety spokesperson declined to answer further questions about the weapon and the incident, saying it's still under investigation.

Jabbour had said Sunday that she hopes to bring proposed regulations for short-term rentals to the City Council at their next meeting.

Hoboken has faced criticism from housing advocates for being among the few towns in the area without a strict policy on Airbnb units and similar rentals.

“I want to thank the Hoboken community for your patience following this morning’s police response on Garden Street," Jabbour said in a statement released only on social media around 4 p.m. Sunday.

She added, "I understand the frustration over the lack of publicly available details at this time...At the next City Council meeting, I plan to introduce an ordinance that will regulate short-term rentals, by establishing clear safety standards, holding property owners accountable, and giving our Public Safety Department better tools to monitor these properties."

Patch will update this story when more information is available.

Earlier Details

Earlier that day, the city had closed the streets in the center of Hoboken around 10 a.m.

In a public safety alert first posted on social media around 9 a.m., the city said, "Please avoid the 500 block of Garden Street. Residents are advised to use alternate routes."

Just before 10 a.m., a Hoboken public safety spokesperson told Patch that police had responded to reports of "a disturbance" on the 500 block of Garden Street.

"Due to this being an active investigation, residents are advised to avoid the area," she noted.

The spokesperson clarified around 10:30 a.m. that Garden Street was closed from Fifth to Seventh streets, and Sixth Street was closed from Bloomfield Street to Park Avenue.

Just before 1 p.m., streets reopened. The spokesperson said the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office would handle further inquiries, and the investigation was continuing.

The city did not send a Nixle alert on Sunday or send the mayor's statement to local media outlets.

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