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Rifle-Wielding Man At Wawa Captured After SWAT Standoff In Somerset County: Prosecutor

A 27-year-old man who police say showed an AR-15-style rifle to a Wawa employee before crashing his car and leaving magazines behind was in custody after a SWAT standoff at his house hours later, according to authorities in Somerset County.

Joshua A. Kinney

Joshua A. Kinney

Photo Credit: Somerset County Prosecutor's Office

Joshua A. Kinney apparently showed the weapon to workers at the Wawa on Route 26 in Montgomery Township, just before his family called police, concerned for his well-being around 3:!5 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said.

Two female customers told responding officers they heard gunshots as Kinney fled the parking lot. Kinney was identified as a suspect after his family placed the 911 call, and officers tracked him to a home on Zion-Wertsville Road in Skillman, McDonald said.

At approximately 5:20 a.m. Montgomery Township Police requested for an activation of the Somerset County SWAT and the Crisis Negotiations Team at the home, where police also found the suspect vehicle.

Following the SWAT activation, Montgomery Township police were able to reach Kinney over the phone and began negotiations. Kinney was arrested around 6:35 a.m. by Somerset County SWAT officers as he walked away from his home, McDonald said.

An AR-15 rifle, handgun, and high capacity magazines for both weapons were found in a wooded field off of Spring Hill Road in Skillman, where Kinney crashed his car on his way home after leaving Wawa, police said. 

Kinney was charged with 2nd degree Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, 2nd degree Certain Persons not to have Weapons or Ammunition, 2nd degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (Handgun), 4th degree Possession of a Large Capacity Magazine (2 counts), 3rd degree Possession of a Firearm without obtaining a Firearms Purchaser Identification Card, 3rd degree Hindering Apprehension, 4th degree Obstruction, and 4th degree Interception of Official Communications. Defendant Kinney was subsequently lodged in the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing.l. 

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