Terrorism? NJ church on lockdown after activity alarmed public

✅ A man was spotted wearing what looked like a bulletproof vest

✅ Activities were going on at a church and athletic field

✅ The right thing to do?

STAFFORD — Terrorism? No, just fitness training.

A church Sunday school was temporarily put on lockdown Sunday morning after police received a call about a suspicious man.

Callers told Stafford police the man was wearing an orange flannel shirt under a bulletproof vest in the area of the Doc Cramer sports complex and Saint Mary’s Parish Center.

Children were kept in the church while parents were asked to stay in their vehicles as police looked for the man.

Officers located the man who said he was exercising.

The vest he was wearing was not bulletproof but weighted down to add resistance for his training. Nothing suspicious was found and activities at the church resumed.

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Avoiding tragedy

Police said the person who called 911 did the right thing.

"When tragic incidents occur, all too often it is discovered that suspicious activity had been previously observed, but a citizen was hesitant to make the call. As a police department, we would much rather take the time to proactively investigate a suspicious call, than respond to a tragic incident that has already occurred," police said on their Facebook page.

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