A nearly 4 1/2-hour police incident at 9th & Chestnut streets in downtown Lebanon ended suddenly, unexpectedly, and without any explanation when a dozen or so heavily armed officers who had surrounded Cahill & Son Furniture & Appliance at 837 Chestnut St. quickly took down hundreds of feet of yellow police tape, got in their vehicles, and drove away.
They did not appear to have apprehended anyone.
Around that time, Lebanon police said in a statement that the incident had been resolved and that roads were now open for vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Police said more information would be shared upon conclusion of the department’s investigation.
In an email to LebTown on Tuesday evening, Lebanon city police Chief Bret Fisher said the incident had been related to a landlord-tenant dispute where some threats were made, and that Lebanon police were able to deescalate the call without incident.
“There were no injuries or use of force,” said Fisher.
Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello said in an email to LebTown that the intersection had been closed down out of an abundance of caution.
During the incident, traffic through the city slowed down significantly, with traffic blocked on 9th Street between Walnut and Cumberlands streets and on Chestnut Street from 8th to 10th streets. A Norfolk Southern rail gang in the area working on the Harrisburg mainline further compounded the traffic buildup as traffic at some city railroad crossings was delayed.
Early in the afternoon, unconfirmed buzz swirled on the street, including among first responders, that Thomas E. Cahill Jr. was holed up inside the store and that he was the target of the swarm of police.
Early rumors that Cahill Jr. was armed and holding a hostage were refuted by Lebanon police in a statement after several hours of official silence. At that time, LebTown updated its original article from “possible hostage situation” to “possible standoff,” citing additional information from police. By then, other outlets, such as CBS 21, had reported a hostage situation was confirmed, citing an unnamed local business owner.
Police left the scene around 4:15 p.m.
Once the police left, Cahill Jr. came to the door of the store, owned by his father, Thomas E. Cahill Sr., and was greeted by dozens of cheering friends and acquaintances.
LebTown interviewed Cahill Jr. in the store within minutes of the officers’ departure. He was reluctant to say anything other than that the police showed up at the store around noon and said they wanted to talk to him.
Cahill Jr. said he refused to talk to any officers and stayed in the store’s office for the duration of the incident.
“I don’t know why they showed up,” he told LebTown. “They said they wanted to talk to me, I told them I didn’t want to talk, and I stayed in the office until they left.”
Fisher said Lebanon police will use other options to finish the investigation and file charges, and that charges will be posted to the department’s Crimewatch site once filed.
“The investigation continues and when we are able to make an arrest, we will share additional information at that time,” said Capello.
Following LebTown’s interview with Cahill Jr., an informal media scrum developed inside Cahill & Son Furniture, but was shortly broken up by Cahill Sr., who had returned to the store and asked the assembled crowd to leave.
Davis Shaver contributed to this article.
This article was updated after publication with additional information from Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello.
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