New Details Released In Fatal Police-Involved Shooting In Cape May County

MIDDLE TWP., NJ — The Attorney General’s Office released additional details about a fatal encounter involving Middle Township police in the Rio Grande section of the township and identified the man who died as Andre Moore, 37, of Cape May Court House.

According to the preliminary investigation, the encounter happened at about 10:21 a.m. Sept. 25, at the intersection of Route 9 and Satt Boulevard. The Attorney General’s Office reported that Middle Township police officers encountered a disabled vehicle there after they had previously attempted to make a motor vehicle stop of that vehicle but had not been successful.

The Attorney General’s Office said officers approached the vehicle and “heard a female screaming from within the vehicle.” According to the preliminary investigation, officers then made forced entry and “observed an adult male civilian with a knife, holding a knife to an adult female civilian.” The release states that Middle Township Officers Christopher Rudy and Ty Pettit discharged their firearms, striking the man.

Moore was pronounced dead after the shooting, according to the Attorney General’s Office. The woman was taken to a medical facility for treatment of multiple stab wounds, the office reported.

The release did not provide additional information about the woman, the attempted motor vehicle stop before the encounter, or the sequence of events after officers entered the vehicle.

Under a 2019 law, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107(a)(2), the Attorney General’s Office is required to investigate deaths that happen during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity or while the person is in custody. The law also requires that those investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine whether the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved.

The Attorney General’s Office said the matter remains under investigation under that process.