Irvington: Cops shot at with paintball gun, schools close, man arrested

There is police activity on Cyrus Field Road, the school district said.

Matt Spillane Colleen Wilson Christopher J. Eberhart
Rockland/Westchester Journal News

A robbery of a cab driver early Friday morning escalated to a multi-agency response that included a SWAT team and blood hounds and forced schools to close.  

The incident started around 12:40 a.m. when a man, later identified as 36-year-old Irvington resident Larhn Laurens-Davitt, allegedly took a cab driver's wallet with credit cards and $245 in cash and ran into a home on Cyrus Field Road, Irvington police said. 

The cab driver told detectives he believed Laurens-Davitt was armed. During their investigation, detectives were shot at 10 times by what was later discovered to be a paintball gun, police said. 

It was still dark and Cyrus Field Road is in a wooded area, so police didn't know where the shots were coming from.

Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Tarrytown and later Greenburgh police departments, as well as the Westchester County SWAT team and helicopter, were called in. 

At daybreak, Irvington police said the SWAT team and blood hounds searched the woods and found a shotgun and paintball gun that allegedly belong to Laurens-Davitt. 

Laurens-Davitt was spotted from the helicopter and, after a foot chase, was arrested around 8:20 a.m. near the Sunoco in Ardsley. 

Laurens-Davitt was charged with second-degree robbery, a felony, and arraigned in village court on Friday. He was remanded to county jail with no bail until Monday. 

The incident unfolded close to Irvington's middle and high schools, so Irvington Superintendent Kristopher Harrison made the decision to shut down. Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry and Hastings school districts went into lock-in mode, which permits anyone to leave but students and staff can move around the building. 

Irvington Superintendent Kristopher Harrison said he first made the decision to delay school, then decided to close it all together after police contacted him.

"In the early morning hours, I did get a call from the police department advising of the ongoing concerns, and out of an abundance of concern for public safety ... it was the proper route to delay school," Harrison said. "As the morning progressed and the situation had not been resolved, again out of concern for safety, we decided it was responsible to close our schools."

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Parents were notified about the delay and eventual closure, Harrison said, via voice message, email and text message. Posts were also made on the district's website and Facebook page.

Police block off Cyrus Field Road at Northfield Avenue in Irvington on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, while police conduct a search in the area.  The police activity prompted the Irvington schools to close for the day.

Twitter: @MattSpillane, @Colleenallreds and @ChrisEberhart2