The state Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team is investigating a fatal police-involved shooting of a Little Egg Harbor Township man Saturday night, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office said.
Patrick Fennell, 57, Sycamore Avenue, was shot by members of the Ocean County SWAT after police responded to a 10:30 p.m. call from his wife, who said her husband was acting strangely, Paul Loriquet said.
“She reported that he was in the basement of their home, where he had weapons, and she thought she heard gunfire,” he said.
Local police arrived and called for assistance from the county SWAT team. Fennell came out of the residence when the SWAT team arrived and fled into a wooded area.
Police officers reported that they saw Fennell holding a handgun when he came out of the residence, Loriquet said.
The SWAT teams spread and contained Fennell in a wooded area. Officers confronted Fennell who allegedly was armed with a handgun at roughly 10:30 p.m.
“An officer or officers from the SWAT team fired multiple rounds, striking Fennell,” Loriquet said. “Police recovered a handgun at the scene of the shooting. Fennell died at the scene.”
The Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team is continuing its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting. No further information is being released at this time, he said.
Little Egg police last night told residents in the areas of Harbourtown Estates and Cedarbrook Lane to stay inside and lock their doors.
They were also asked to report any suspicious or unusual activity to police, according to a Little Egg Harbor Nixle alert.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office is not handling the matter due to a conflict, spokesman Al Della Fave said.
The attorney general’s shooting response team is investigating the incident.
