Man Who Shot Himself At Route 37 Wawa In Critical Condition, Officials Say

A 30-year-old Seaside Heights man who attempted suicide early Monday morning at the Wawa on Route 37 at Northampton Boulevard remains in critical condition at a trauma center, police and the prosecutor’s office said.

Toms RIver police were called to the Wawa at 1600 Route 37 West shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday for a report of a despondent man threatening to kill himself, Ralph Stocco, spokesman for the Toms River Police Department, said.

The man’s wife had reported that she was in a car with her husband, and that he had a long-barreled weapon and was threatening to kill himself, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

Toms River police and its Emergency Services Unit established a perimeter isolating and containing the subject and his vehicle on the east side of the Wawa building facing west, Della Fave said.

Della Fave said a Toms River detective began negotiations with the man, trying to convince him to surrender the weapon and seek help. Shortly after the discussions began, the man’s wife got out of the car.

The negotiations continued for more than three hours, Della Fave said, but at approximately 2:15 a.m. the man fired one shot in a suicide attempt. First aid was rendered by officers immediately and the man was taken to Community Medical Center and later transferred to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he remains in critical condition, he said.

The situation forced the Wawa to shut down for several hours overnight, according to witnesses. One woman who pulled into the parking lot just after police arrived was told to get back in her car when she started to get out, she said.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office is handling the investigation, Della Fave and Stocco said.