Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Sources Identify N.J. Police Officer Shot And Killed

A New Jersey police officer was shot and killed Monday next to an abandoned movie theater off the Garden State Parkway, authorities said.

SAYREVILLE, N.J. - Autopsy results are pending following the shooting death of an off-duty New Jersey police officer just off the Garden State Parkway, according to authorities.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office declined to identify the officer, but nj.com said decorated Sayreville Detective Matt Kurtz was shot and killed outside an abandoned movie theater.

Read update: Death of Hero N.J. Police Officer Remains Tragic Mystery

A Facebook page belonging to a Matthew Kurtz of Sayreville used the "Thin Blue Line" symbol - which recognizes fallen officers - as its profile photo on Monday.

The cause of death has yet to be determined, but it appeared the officer suffered one or more gunshot wounds, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

The results of an autopsy by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office were not immediately available.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office confirmed that the body of a Sayreville police officer was found around 7:15 a.m. Monday morning.

The officer was killed next to Amboy Cinemas just off the Garden State Parkway in Sayreville, according to the MCPO.

Police tape stretched across the parking lot while police officers tended to the scene behind the theater on Monday.

The officer was shot and killed while sitting in his personal vehicle, according to NBC 4 New York.

The officer may have been investigating a report of a suspicious person when the shooting occurred, but it is not known if he was able to fire back, the report said.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office is leading the investigation. News12 reported that the officer was a 9-year veteran, and Greater Media News papers said Matt Kurtz was sworn in as an officer in 2007. He was 25 when he was sworn in, according to the report.

Kurtz previously worked as a maintenance technician at Our Lady of Victories Church, Sayreville. He had a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice from the University of Scranton, according to the report.

Last year, Kurtz and Sayreville Police Sgt. Kevin Connors and officer Douglas Gumprecht were presented with valor awards last year from the 200 Club of Middlesex County at the organization's 42nd annual banquet at the Pines Manor, Route 27, Edison, according to mycentraljersey.com.

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The area is the original site of the Amboys Drive-In Theater located in Sayreville, where Parkway drivers would be able to see the movie screen - and whatever film was playing on it - as they headed north toward the Driscoll Bridge.

It was later replaced by the 11 screen Amboy Multiplex theater, which closed down about a decade ago.

The investigation is active and is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Canastra at (732) 745-3809.

Officers from other departments were already paying tribute to the officer.

We'll have more information as it becomes available. Here are more tributes:

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Sayreville Police Department for the loss of one of thier officers. Rest in peace

Posted by Woodbridge Police Department on Monday, March 21, 2016


Photo (first): Matt Kurtz (r); Sayreville police photo

Photos (two and three): Tony Caputo ‏@TonyCaputo/News12.com

Photo: Eyewitness NewsABCNY

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