Pedro Vaca, 29, apparently visited a relative there after signing the kids out of school and dropping them off with a family member in North Bergen around 3 p.m., authorities said.
Police pinged his cellphone to Fairview, where Vaca "had been laying his head" with another relative on Greeley Avenue, borough Police Chief Martin Kahn told Daily Voice.
The SWAT team was dispatched to Fairview at 9:21 p.m. Tuesday, Kahn said.
Vaca, who wasn't there, later surrendered to Belleville police.
He remained held in the Essex County Jail on attempted murder and weapons charges, among other counts.
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