Mount Vernon Police Detectives Investigating Kidnapping Allegations

MOUNT VERNON, NY — Mount Vernon police acted quickly to control a potentially dangerous situation and then worked to methodically defuse the fraught circumstances.

Shortly before 3 a.m. on Friday morning, Mount Vernon police received a report about a female victim who was being held against her will at a home on East 4th St. The victim's family alerted police after receiving several concerning text messages.

Uniformed police officers and the Mount Vernon Police Emergency Services Unit, established a perimeter around the address where the woman reported she was being held. Members of the MVPD trained in hostage and crisis negotiation arrived on the scene and after several hours of negotiations, the victim was released from the apartment. However, the suspect remained locked inside of the apartment.

A little after 1 p.m., negotiators were able to convince the suspect to surrender to the police, officials said.

Lahquan Palmer, 28, of Mount Vernon, was arrested. He is charged with kidnapping in the 2nd degree and criminal use of a firearm 1st degree, both class B felonies. Palmer has a criminal history that includes arrests for weapons possession, reckless endangerment and robbery, according to police.