Brick Man, 21, Killed In Police Shooting, Family Says

Authorities are investigating the circumstances of an officer-involved shooting that killed a 21-year-old Brick Township man late Sunday night in Brick, the Ocean County Prsoecutor’s Office has confirmed.

Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, said Brick police were called to a home on Cherrywood Circle about 1050 p.m. following a 9-1-1 call from a man who said he was going to create a disturbance and hung up.

The Asbury Park Press is reporting the man’s name is Julian Hoffman, a Brick Memorial High School graduate who lived with his parents at the Cherrywood Circle home.

Police and the prosecutor’s office have not released any names in connection with the incident.

Upon arrival, Brick officers were confronted by a white male approaching them from the residence at 47 Cherrywood Cirle carrying what appeared to be a black semi-automatic hand gun, Della Fave said.

Officers ordered the man to drop the weapon, and when he failed to do so, they fired, striking the man several times, killing him, Della Fave said.

Della Fave said the identities of all involved are being withheld pending familynotifications and the investigation is continuing into the specific facts surrounding the event. As per the directive from the Office of the NJ Attorney General all police involved shootings are to be handled solely by the Prosecutor’s Office within the county of the event, he said.

The Ocean County Sheriff’s Department is assisting and the investigation is moving forward with the full cooperation of the Brick Township Police Department, Della Fave said.

Cherrywood Circle is located in the north end of town off Lanes Mill Road, just east of the Garden State Parkway, not far from Burnt Tavern Road and Lanes Mill Elementary School.

Officer-involved shootings are rare in Ocean County, but they have occurred.

The last officer-involved shooting in Brick occurred in April 2010, when officers confronted former corrections officer Ralph Stoia III as he robbed the CVS on Burnt Tavern Road. Stoia pointed his gun at officers and ignored commands to drop it, according to reports. Officer Joshua Jenssen told Stoia to drop his weapon, and when he refused, Jenssen fired twice. Stoia survived the shooting and is now serving a jail sentence. The gun he pointed at police contained hollow-point bullets, authorities said.

In March 2011, Waretown Patrolman Matthew Quinn shot and killed Todd A. Wolford, who came out of his house holding a gun and refused to drop it. Police had been called to the home because Wolford was reported by a friend to be suicidal, according to reports. Though Wolford’s family filed a lawsuit in the case, the state Attorney General’s office ruled the shooting was justified.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back with the Patch for updates.