The Attorney General’s Office is investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred on Thursday, August 6, in Ventnor.
According to a statement released by The Attorney general's Office, An unidentified male civilian sustained fatal injuries, and authorities are still working hard to confirm his identity.
The preliminary investigation indicated that at approximately 4:16 p.m., Ventnor and Atlantic City Police Department officers responded to a 911 call concerning a man behaving erratically in the vicinity of Wellington Avenue and West End Avenue.
Offcials said when the responding officers encountered the man, he was walking in and out of a marshy area along the roadway while holding a broken glass bottle in his hand.
According to officials, the officers attempted to engage the man and offer him assistance, but he refused to comply with their commands, including repeated requests for him to drop the bottle.
Instead, he continued to walk back and forth on the roadway, where officers had stopped traffic for safety reasons.
Officials say at approximately 4:30 p.m., the man advanced on officers with the broken bottle in his hand and multiple officers fired their weapons, fatally wounding him. He was rushed by a waiting ambulance to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Atlantic City Campus, where he was pronounced deceased at approximately 6:00 p.m.
The investigation is being conducted by the Attorney General’s Office, pursuant to a law enacted in January 2019, P.L.2019, c.1, which requires that the Attorney General’s Office conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody.
No further information has been released by the Attorney General's Office.