Anti Federalist
11-25-2013, 12:58 PM
South Brunswick man killed after four-hour standoff, attacking police, authorities say
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/11/police_kill_man_south_brunswick_nj_standoff.html#i ncart_m-rpt-1
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — A schizophrenic man who was off his medications barricaded himself in his house for hours and assaulted a police officer before he was shot and killed, authorities said.
Andrew Murnieks, 28, was shot once in the chest around 10:30 p.m. in his Hannah Drive home, said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the state Attorney General.
Police had been called to the residence for previous incidents, authorities said.
On Wednesday night they responded to the house about 6:30 p.m. on the report of an emotionally-disturbed person, Aseltine said.
Murnieks’ mother told officers her son was schizophrenic and had not been taking his medications, authorities said.
As police approached the door, Murnieks allegedly opened the front door and raised a large knife in a threatening manner, police said. The officers shut the door, retreated, and notified the county’s Special Operations Response Team.
Over several hours, a negotiator made repeated efforts to resolve the situation, Aseltine added.
But when those efforts failed, the officers entered the residence.
Murnieks allegedly assaulted one of the officers, police said. An officer then fired a single shot which hit the 28-year-old in the chest around 10:30 p.m., authorities said. Murnieks was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick an hour later, they added.
The county’s Special Operations Response Team was dispatched to the scene at the time of the shooting, said Jim O’Neill, a spokesman for the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. The state Attorney General is handling the investigation of the police-involved shooting, O’Neill said.
Neighbors watched armed police and ambulances surround the house Wednesday night, residents said today. Police used a public address system to communicate with the man during the negotiations, and then people heard a large bang, which residents believed was a device used to distract the man, according to sources familiar with incident.
Aneesa Vadgama said she heard multiple gunshots.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” said Vadgama. “Then, one of the ambulances took out a stretcher and I heard one shot, then a second shot, then three more shots.
“We saw them put someone in an ambulance and leave,” she added.
Murnieks has a brother who is a South Brunswick police dispatcher, confirmed Mayor Frank Gambatese.
Vadgama said she graduated from high school with Murnieks - and worked with him a decade ago at a local supermarket. However, he had become ill in recent years, she said.
"I knew he had a mental problem," Vadgama said.
"He was a fun kid," she added. "It's very sad."
The Attorney General's office said the shooting is still under investigation.
Murnieks' death marks at least the third fatal police shooting in northern or Central New Jersey in the past two weeks. The other shootings were in Newark and Irvington.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/11/police_kill_man_south_brunswick_nj_standoff.html#i ncart_m-rpt-1
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — A schizophrenic man who was off his medications barricaded himself in his house for hours and assaulted a police officer before he was shot and killed, authorities said.
Andrew Murnieks, 28, was shot once in the chest around 10:30 p.m. in his Hannah Drive home, said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the state Attorney General.
Police had been called to the residence for previous incidents, authorities said.
On Wednesday night they responded to the house about 6:30 p.m. on the report of an emotionally-disturbed person, Aseltine said.
Murnieks’ mother told officers her son was schizophrenic and had not been taking his medications, authorities said.
As police approached the door, Murnieks allegedly opened the front door and raised a large knife in a threatening manner, police said. The officers shut the door, retreated, and notified the county’s Special Operations Response Team.
Over several hours, a negotiator made repeated efforts to resolve the situation, Aseltine added.
But when those efforts failed, the officers entered the residence.
Murnieks allegedly assaulted one of the officers, police said. An officer then fired a single shot which hit the 28-year-old in the chest around 10:30 p.m., authorities said. Murnieks was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick an hour later, they added.
The county’s Special Operations Response Team was dispatched to the scene at the time of the shooting, said Jim O’Neill, a spokesman for the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. The state Attorney General is handling the investigation of the police-involved shooting, O’Neill said.
Neighbors watched armed police and ambulances surround the house Wednesday night, residents said today. Police used a public address system to communicate with the man during the negotiations, and then people heard a large bang, which residents believed was a device used to distract the man, according to sources familiar with incident.
Aneesa Vadgama said she heard multiple gunshots.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” said Vadgama. “Then, one of the ambulances took out a stretcher and I heard one shot, then a second shot, then three more shots.
“We saw them put someone in an ambulance and leave,” she added.
Murnieks has a brother who is a South Brunswick police dispatcher, confirmed Mayor Frank Gambatese.
Vadgama said she graduated from high school with Murnieks - and worked with him a decade ago at a local supermarket. However, he had become ill in recent years, she said.
"I knew he had a mental problem," Vadgama said.
"He was a fun kid," she added. "It's very sad."
The Attorney General's office said the shooting is still under investigation.
Murnieks' death marks at least the third fatal police shooting in northern or Central New Jersey in the past two weeks. The other shootings were in Newark and Irvington.