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Woodbridge police officers had stopped a vehicle at a gas station on Route 9 north around 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 14, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said.
The male driver, the sole occupant, had an active National Crime Information Center (NCIC) warrant issued in New York for an active criminal investigation in Nassau County, AG Matthew J. Platkin said.
When officers asked the man to exit the van, he refused and instead moved to the van’s rear compartment, behind a curtain and out of the officers’ view, according to Platkin.
The officers broke the van’s windows and used pepper spray spray to try to get the male to exit. Less than 15 minutes later, officers on the scene reported hearing a loud noise that sounded like a firework.
Woodbridge Police Department’s Tactical Team, officers from the Perth Amboy Police Department, and EMS responded to the scene. The individual was later found within the van, dead from an apparent gunshot wound, at approximately 8:30 p.m.
A non-police-issued shotgun was recovered from inside the van. Preliminary information indicates that no law enforcement officers fired their weapons.
The AG's office is investigating.
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