Update: Nanuet Man Dead After Seven-hour Standoff

The second hostage incident in less than 24 hours in Rockland County ended after about 7-1/2 hours with longtime resident Kevin Dowling dead of a gunshot wound to the chest.

Clarkstown Police Det. Sgt. Timothy O'Neill said Dowling was found shortly before 2 p.m. in a back bedroom of the second-floor apartment at 205 Main St. A rifle was found nearby, and an eviction notice was found on a night table. The fatal wound was apparently self-inflicted.

Police entered the man's apartment around 1 p.m. after numerous attempts to coax him out. Police gave Dowling's age as 52.

The incident began at 6:23 a.m. and forced Nanuet schools to go into lockdown and some residents to be evacuated. It started when a friend of the man was on the telephone with him. Dowling appeared to be depressed and possibly suicidal, telling his friend he had a gun to his head. He had also been drinking and said he was supposed to be evicted Friday at 9 a.m.

The friend went to the apartment but could not get in. He asked a passerby to call the police.

Police used a camera to try to see where in the apartment the man was but they could not locate him. Officials said they were told by friends of the man that he slept with a rifle and a handgun, which is why police agencies used so much caution in trying to resolve the standoff.

After a brief phone conversation earlier in the day with Dowling, during which he said he would come out when he was ready, police said they could not get in touch with him again by phone. No gun shot was heard by police subsequent to that call, so they cannot determine when Dowling died.

Attempts to get Dowling out of the apartment included using a flash/bang device, or stun grenade and messages via loudspeakers to get his attention. The grenade damaged a window, police said. An armored vehicle was stationed in front of the two-story building.

At one point police sent in pepper spray canisters to no avail.

Eight residents of the apartment were evacuated to the street. The deli across the street was also evacuated and business owners were not allowed in their stores.

The medical examiner is investigating the cause of Dowling's death, and police as yet do not have information on other weapons in the apartment.

Police said Dowling had lived in the apartment for two years. Neighbors in the building told police he walked with a cane and it was extremely difficult for him to walk because of a hip problem. Neighbors said it could take him 20 minutes to climb the stairs to his second-floor apartment, and they sometimes carried him up.

Middletown Road in Nanuet is closed at Prospect Street and southbound traffic is being diverted. It should be opened by 4 p.m. Police have about a two-block area near the man's apartment closed down for the investigation.

The incident began in the heart of the commuter hour for Nanuet. The train station is two blocks away from the scene, and police had to divert traffic which delayed commuters getting to the train station.

On the scene were about 40 police officers, as well as State Police canine units and the Rockland County Mobile Communications Center.

Thursday, a five-hour standoff in Bardonia between a distraught 26-year-old Francis Bifulco and police ended peacefully around 9:25 p.m. He surrendered to the police and was taken to Nyack Hospital for medical and psychological evaluation.

Check back for more details on today's incident.