Family Of Man Shot By Police During Apparent 911 Call Mixup Speaks Out

When 76-year- old Gerald Sykes awoke Saturday morning after he was shot, his first question for his family was “did they get the bad guys who shot me?”

He was stunned to learn the “bad guys who shot him” were state troopers, according to nj.com.

"He just kept shaking his head," his step-daughter Diana LaFalce told the newspaper. "He couldn't believe it."

The shooting came after police responded to a 911 call they later learned came from a different location, according to a statement released Saturday by the State Attorney General’s Office, which is investigating the incident.

Troopers arrived at the home in Upper Deerfield Township, and proceeded to the back door, shining flashlights into the sliding glass door and saying they were responding to a 911 call, the Attorney General said.

Family friend and attorney Richard Kaser told the Courier Post that when Sykes saw someone approaching his back door, he thought it was an intruder, so he grabbed his shotgun.

One of the officers shot four times through a rear sliding glass door, and Sykes fired one shot from his shotgun.

Saturday’s statement didn’t clarify who shot first. According to Kaser, it was the police.

After the shooting, Sykes retreated into his house. He called 911, and dispatchers asked him if there were any guns in the house. Sykes responded by saying "What are you worried about guns for? I am dying,” according to the nj.com report.

The two unidentified troopers have been placed on administrative leave following the incident.

Sykes and his wife have lived in Centerton, Cumberland County, for 22 years and they built the house they live in, according to the report.

Sykes still respects law enforcement, Kaser said. “But he certainly is looking at that in a little bit different light."