Man In Jackson Standoff Charged With Attempted Murder: Prosecutor

JACKSON, NJ — A Jackson Township man who held authorities at bay for seven hours on Wednesday night has been charged with attempted murder after he doused another man with lighter fluid and tried to set him on fire using a blowtorch, the Ocean County prosecutor's office said Thursday.

John Abramski, 50, has been charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said in a news release.

Jackson police were called to Abramski's home on New Central Avenue about 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday after a report of a woman leaving the house yelling and saying a man inside had a gun and was acting irrationally, the release said.

The responding officers found the victim, Daniel Shemtov, smelling of "petroleum product" and learned Abramski had poured lighter fluid on Shemtov and repeatedly tried to set him on fire with a propane torch before Shemtov was able to escape, Billhimer said.

Jackson police confronted Abramski in the driveway, but he ran back into the house. Abramski’s girlfriend told police he had a loaded shotgun, and at that point police called for assistance from the Ocean County Regional SWAT team, the prosecutor said.

The SWAT team breached the house about 2:30 p.m. and found multiple weapons, but also discovered Abramski was no longer in the house but had barricaded himself in a shed behind the house. Using a tactical vehicle called the "Bearcat," the SWAT team then breached the shed and found Abramski with the shotgun pointed at himself, the prosecutor said.

Abramski refused to surrender, and after hours of negotiations, authorities used tear gas and were able to arrest Abramski without incident, Billhimer said.

No law enforcement officers were injured, he said.

Billhimer praised the efforts the Ocean County Regional SWAT Team, the Jackson Township Police Department, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Unit and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

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John Abramski photo provided by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office