WESTERLO — After being told to leave a gathering at a Westerlo home on Saturday, Thomas F. Conover, 35, returned with a shotgun, which he aimed at the large group, including several children under the age of 15, according to New York State Police.

Conover fled the scene before police arrived; they found him at his Westerlo home where he barricaded himself and refused to leave.

He “refused all law enforcement orders to exit the home leading to the establishment of a safety perimeter and the involvement of a crisis negotiator,” Trooper Stepahnie O’Neil told The Enterprise this week. 

O’Neil said the gathering was of family and friends, and that it is unclear if Conover was related to any of them. She also said it’s not known whether drugs or alcohol were a factor. 

According to a press release, Conover ultimately volunteered himself to officers, who recovered the shotgun used in the incident along with other illegally possessed firearms. 

Conover was charged with second-degree menacing, second-degree reckless endangerment, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and nine counts of endangering the welfare of a child — all misdemeanors.

 Conover was processed in New Scotland and arraigned at Westerlo Town Court before being released on his own recognizance.