Crime & Safety
NJ Man Wanted In Murder Investigation Killed In Shootout, Injured 1 Officer
The man used his girlfriend's baby as a police shield and only emerged after the apartment building he was barricaded in caught fire.
LONG BRANCH, NJ — A Long Branch man was shot and killed Friday night by police officers with the Monmouth County Prosecutor after a nine-hour-long standoff where he only emerged from the apartment after a fire broke out - and was holding a newborn baby.
The New Jersey Attorney General's office is now investigating, as it is required to do anytime someone in the state is fatally shot by police.
The incident began Friday afternoon, when detectives with the Monmouth County Prosecutor tried to execute a search warrant at the apartment on the 200 block of Chelsea Avenue in Long Branch, said the AG.
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The man was wanted in connection with a murder investigation. Subscribe to get Patch news: https://patch.com/subscribe
Police said as they were entering the home, the man inside shot one of the officers in the lower leg.
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At that point the officers repositioned themselves outside the apartment and the man barricaded himself inside.
The stand-off then proceeded to last for the next nine hours, until around 2 a.m. at which point the apartment building caught fire, said the AG.
The barricaded man inside fled the building, firing a gun multiple times as he exited.
NBC New York reports that the man ran out of the burning building holding his girlfriend's two-week-old baby and a police shield as he fired at the officers. They also report that the fire at the apartment building was deliberately set.
Officers returned fire, hitting the man who was later pronounced dead at the scene.
The newborn was safely recovered, reported NBC.
The entire Long Branch apartment building was destroyed by the fire. The name of the man shot and killed is not being released at this time.
The officer who was shot in the lower leg was transported to a local hospital and discharged later Friday evening.
The state attorney general's office investigates anytime someone dies in police custody. The state prosecutor is required to convene a grand jury to review the causes and circumstances of the death.
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