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After deliberating for approximately five hours over three days, a Superior Court jury returned a guilty verdict Tuesday, Feb. 7 against Bruce Gomola Jr., 54, on charges of aggravated manslaughter and aggravated assault.
Jurors declined to convict Gomola of the more serious charge of murder, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw.
Sentencing is set for April 14.
Gomola was employed as a corrections officer at the Burlington County Jail when he was arrested. He has been held in the Morris County Correctional Facility in Morristown.
The incident occurred at the New Jersey Urology office in the 15000 block of Midlantic Drive during the afternoon of July 24, 2020. The investigation revealed that Gomola became upset about the details of an appointment there concerning his father.
When Patient Services Representative Stephanie Horton attempted to discuss the situation with Gomola, he pushed her and then pulled a .40 caliber handgun and fired one shot into her chest. The bullet exited through her back and struck a female patient in the knee.
Gomola then left the building and drove away, but soon returned to the scene and surrendered without incident to a detective from the Mount Laurel Police Department.
Horton, 44, of Willingboro, was pronounced dead a short time later at Cooper University Hospital in Camden. The other victim, a woman in her 50s, was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The shooting was investigated by the Mount Laurel Police Department and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
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