Woodbridge Man Killed By Police In New Jersey After Long Standoff

LONG BRANCH, NJ — A Woodbridge, Virginia, man was killed by police in New Jersey last Saturday after a nine-hour-long standoff, according to the office of the New Jersey attorney general.

The standoff between the Woodbridge man — 34-year-old Mark D. Walker II — and police ended when the apartment building in Long Branch, New Jersey, where Walker was holed up in caught fire. Walker ran out of the burning building holding a newborn baby and firing at police officers, according to NBC and the Asbury Park Press.

On Wednesday, the New Jersey attorney general’s office identified Walker as the man who was killed. The attorney general also identified the police officers who fired on him: Patrolman Eric Voorand of the Manalapan Police Department; Patrolman Daniel Murphy of the Howell Police Department; and Patrolman Omar Akel of the Middletown Police Department.

The incident started when members of the Monmouth County, New Jersey, Prosecutor's Office were trying to execute a warrant in connection with a homicide investigation in Long Branch on the evening of Friday, Nov. 5. Walker was wanted by police in connection with a murder investigation.

As officers were executing the warrant, Walker moved into a room of the apartment and shot one of the officers in the lower leg as the officer approached the room, the attorney general’s office said.

SEE ALSO: Man Killed In Standoff With Long Branch Police Identified

At that point, the officers repositioned themselves outside the apartment and Walker barricaded himself inside. Members of the Monmouth County Emergency Response Team were deployed to the scene.

The tense stand-off then proceeded to last until 2 a.m. Saturday, when a fire erupted in the apartment and Walker fled the building, discharging a gun multiple times as he exited.

NBC and the Asbury Park Press cited anonymous police sources who said Walker was holding his girlfriend's two-week-old baby and the police shield of the wounded officer as he ran out of the building, firing at officers. They also report that the fire at the apartment building was deliberately set.

The newborn baby was recovered by police with no injuries.

The officer who was shot in the lower leg was transported to a local hospital and discharged later in the evening.

The apartment building was completely destroyed and is now a hollow shell after what the New Jersey attorney general’s office described as "best efforts" from the Long Branch Fire Department to put out the fire.