Man Found Dead In Home After Standoff With Police: GTPD

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — A 24-year-old man was found deceased in a home on Hampshire Road in the Sicklerville section of the township following a standoff that lasted more than 12 hours, Gloucester Township police said Thursday afternoon. The man has not yet been identified.

He wasn't killed by police fire, and Gloucester Township Police Chief Harry Earle said police didn't fire any rounds into the Brittany Woods townhouse during the incident. A woman who was also found in the house following the standoff wasn't injured.

Gloucester Township police initially responded to the area of Hampshire Road for reports of shots fired at about 8:05 p.m. Wednesday night. Multiple shots had been fired outside the home. Upon arrival, officers heard gunshots and took cover.

Numerous additional on duty officers and the Gloucester Township Police Special Response Team (SWAT)
responded and took a position in front of the residence with the Armored Rescue Vehicle. The man then shot 15 rounds at the officer inside the vehicle, police said. Although there was damage to the vehicle's windshield, no officers were injured.

Over the course of the next 10 hours, police said they attempted to negotiate with the man inside the house, but they were met with "negative results" and at times, additional gunfire. Police were able to speak with him by phone numerous times, but he ultimately refused to answer after several calls, police said.

After 10 hours, the police used the Armored Rescue Vehicle to remove the front door, and Camden County Sheriff’s Department Search Robots were used to attempt to clear the home, police said.

The SRT and SERT eventually made their way into the townhouse, where they found both the man and the woman. A handgun and an assault rifle were also found inside the home, according to police.

The relationship between the man and the woman wasn't immediately clear. Information as to how the incident at the row home in the Sicklerville section of the township began wasn't immediately available.

A total of 18 people were evacuated from 10 townhouses in the area, and taken to Erial Fire Station by y the Gloucester Township Office of Emergency Management. They were initially evacuated by the Gloucester Township Police Department Special Response Team with the assistance of the Camden County Sheriff’s Department SERT Team, using armored rescue vehicles from both the Gloucester Township Police Department and the Camden County Sheriff's Department. The residents who were evacuated were allowed to return to their homes when the standoff ended, police said.

In addition to the evacuations, some residents were put in a shelter-in-place situation. They were asked to remain in their homes on the following streets:

• Prospect Avenue (between Jerrys Court and Carr Lane)
• Parsons Court
• Prospect Court
• Edinshire Road (from Prospect to Brookshire)
• Brookshire Road
• Hampshire Road (from Prospect to the bend)

A media staging area was then set up at Timber Creek Regional High School, and the Black Horse Pike Regional School District announced just before 6 a.m. that its schools would be closed for the day.

All schools in the Gloucester Township K-8 Public School District were closed for students and 10-month staff, the school district announced. Administrators and year-round staff must still report as scheduled. The Erial Community Church Christian School was also closed.

"We thank everyone for following our request and remaining sheltered in place or clear of the area during this critical incident," police said. "This is another example of teamwork between multijurisdictional agencies. The Camden County Prosecutor's Office, FBI, Camden County Sheriff's Department SERT Team, Camden County Communications, Erial Fire Department, Lambs Terrace Fire Department, Gloucester Township EMS, Virtua Paramedics, Cherry Hill Rehab 13, Gloucester Township Office of Emergency Management, Camden County Office of Emergency Management, Canteen 1 and 2 and Camden County Fire Police are worked jointly to manage this event."

"I'm proud of the men and women of the Gloucester Township Police Department and all the first responders who handled this situation, a very difficult situation, with the utmost professionalism," Gloucester Township Mayor David Mayer said. "We live in a cruel world where no community is insulated from this type of violence, but we are prepared for such a situation as we showed today."

The investigation is being handled by the Gloucester Township Police Department and the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

Brittany Woods is a complex of 388 townhouses. A neighborhood group has been working for about two years to clean up the neighborhood, bring back a playground for the children and fill some of the vacant and boarded up houses that were a blight on their streets.

See related: Citizens Lead Cleanup Of Brittany Woods In Gloucester Township

The attached image from the scene was posted on the Gloucester Township Police Department's Facebook page.

The below images of the Bearcats were provided by the Gloucester Township Police Department