The Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team is investigating after a state trooper’s gun was discharged during the pursuit of a suspect in Buena on Wednesday afternoon.
No one was injured in the shooting. The suspect is in custody.
Police received a report of gunshots fired shortly after 1 p.m. near the intersection of Routes 40 and 54 in Buena, where there are nearby businesses, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
State Police from Buena Station and the Franklin Township police responded.
A man told police that he was near the Rodeway Inn when the suspect pointed a gun at him and fired at least one round.
The suspect was identified late Thursday afternoon as Luis Figueroa, 28, of Blackwood.
Police chased Figueroa into a wooded area nearby, where he was apprehended, BreakingAC was told.
During his apprehension, a state trooper discharged his weapon.
A handgun was allegedly recovered from the suspect, who is in police custody.
Nearby Cleary Elementary school was in lockdown as a precaution, Franklin Township police told the public in a Facebook status late Wednesday afternoon.
“At this time there is no danger to the public and the incident is currently being investigated by the New Jersey State Police,” the status said.
No further information is being released at this time.
Figueroa is charged with attempted murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, possession of a weapon as a convicted felon and resisting arrest by flight. He is being held in the Atlantic County Jail pending a detention hearing.
In New Jersey, all investigations of police deadly force incidents are governed by the Attorney General's Independent Prosecutor Directive, issued in 2006 and strengthened in 2015, which establishes strict procedures for conducting such investigations, according the office. It requires the attorney general to review all deadly force investigations, and in some cases conduct them as well.
In this case, the investigation is being conducted directly by the Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team, the office said.
The directive further provides that unless the undisputed facts indicate the use of force was justified under the law, the circumstances of the incident must ultimately be presented to a grand jury, composed of 23 civilians, for its independent review.
