A suspicious man has tried unsuccessfully to break into a Saddle Brook bagel shop in the middle of the night on two separate occasions this week, police said.

Police responded to the second attempt around 4 a.m. Thursday after a Bagels & Beyond employee heard banging on the front and rear doors of the building and opened the rear door to find a heavy-set man wearing a black sweatshirt and a ski mask, police said. Upon seeing the bagel store employee, the man fled south toward Sylvan Street, according to reports.

Saddle Brook police and the Bergen County K-9 unit set up a perimeter around the shop but were unable to locate anyone in the area, Deputy Chief Robert White said.

The bagel store owner told police that a similar incident involving what he believed to be the same man had occurred just two nights earlier, although he didn't report it at the time.

"It seems a little peculiar," said White, who speculated the incident could have been a prank rather than an attempted burglary because burglaries are typically committed when a property is empty.

Regardless, White said police would put some extra eyes near the bagel shop on future midnight shifts.

--

Follow Fair Lawn-Saddle Brook Patch on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to receive our daily newsletter in your inbox each morning