It was a scary start to the first day of school for students at Mahopac High School and Mahopac Middle School.

The schools were placed on lockdown as police searched for a grand larceny suspect who had crashed his car nearby.

Police say they tried to pull over Xhem Hoti, 25, at around 8:40 a.m. Hoti is wanted in Connecticut and New Jersey. They say Hoti veered off the road, struck a fire hydrant and careened into the front lawn of a home on Myrtle Avenue. Hoti then allegedly fled the scene on foot into a wooded area.

Authorities alerted the schools as a safety precaution and officials immediately initiated security procedures.

Police dogs and helicopters were dispatched to help with the search. A phone call to police alerted officers that a man fitting Hoti's description was knocking on the door of a home on Rustic Road in Mahopac Falls.

Investigators were able to speak to the suspect on a cellphone. Hoti surrendered himself after an hour of negotiations.

The lockdown at the schools was lifted at around 11 a.m.

Hoti is now in custody at Putnam County Jail.