Fire-Rescue News- Victim in Hammonton standoff was fatally shot when SWAT team entered the home
By DAN GOOD and TOM BARLAS, Staff Writers | Posted: Monday, April 26, 2010 | 18 comments
A standoff in Hammonton involving an armed man ended with a body being removed from a house at Messina and Fairview avenues just after 9 a.m. Monday.
The standoff began at about......Continue Reading
NBC40 is reporting police standoff ended early Monday morning when witnesses say they saw police fatally shoot a man who was believed to have taken hostages at gunpoint
(The Hammonton Fire and Rescue squad responded for emergency stand by.)
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4:30 p.m. Sunday when a man, whose identity is not yet known, pointed a gun at an emergency worker in Deptford, then fled to his mother's house as police cars gave chase, Deptford police confirmed.
Between 3:40 and 4:10 a.m. Monday, a series of blasts could be heard, their cause not immediately known.
Linda Stewart, who lives in an upstairs apartment at the house, said a woman and her son, plus the woman's boyfriend, lived downstairs, having moved in a couple months ago.
Stewart also believes two other people were visiting from North Carolina.
Stewart was getting ready to work the overnight shift at a nearby Walmart Sunday evening at about 5 p.m. When she got out of the shower, she heard yelling, looked out the window and saw police officers with guns drawn at the front and rear of the house. She got a call from her landlord (who she said is a police officer), who told her to use an exterior stairs and leave quietly. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, an officer dashed to the house and led her to safety across the street. She went to stay at her daughter's house nearby.
She said the mother was the last one to leave the house and was apparently trying to talk her son into coming out. She said she was scared "a little bit" and had to miss work because she couldn't return to get her clothes.
On Sunday, a woman who identified herself as the armed man's mother was seen leaving the house sometime after 5:30 p.m. She told The Press of Atlantic City that she was unharmed but declined to comment further.
Next-door neighbor Frank Sacco, 22, said he was home at 4:30 p.m. when he heard police yellling "Drop the gun, drop the gun!" and looked out the window to see officers outside. He said an officer told him to keep his door closed. He said the house was a rental property and that he did not know the name of the woman who lived there but that she had only lived there a couple of months.
Joe DeCosta, 13, was in his backyard a few blocks away from the house Sunday afternoon when he saw a car speed by followed by a series of police cars.
As he waited for the school bus to arrive Monday, he reflected on the incident. "I was kinda hoping it would go on even longer so I wouldn't have to go to school," he said.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office forensic crime scene unit arrived at the scene at about 5:30 a.m. today. At the same time, Mike Porretta sat in his truck, stewing. The owner of Porretta Builders on Anderson Avenue was unable to reach his business Monday due to the standoff.
"Safety is an issue, and it's important that they take care of the situation," Porretta said, shrugging. "What can I do?"
Brenda Hernandez, a clerk at Ricca's Bakery on Fairview Avenue, near where police have blocked off the road, said police told her there was a hostage situation but that they did not tell her to evacuate the area.
By 2 a.m. Monday, Camden County fire police and hostage experts visited the scene, lending support and relieving some Atlantic County-based crews.
By that hour, some police officers were sleeping in their cars. A member of the Camden County Fire Police Command Unit set up cones along 13th Street, blocking area traffic.
He came prepared for a long wait, arriving with four cups of coffee - along with a bag filled of straws, sugar and cream packets.
This story is developing. Check back for updates, and later this morning, video from the scene.
Posted in BREAKING on Monday, April 26, 2010 8:00 am Updated: 9:37 am.
This story was taken from the news source stated above. It's content and comments are not necessarily the opinion of The Elwood Vol. Fire Company or it's members.
