Crime & Safety

CamCo Man Threatening 'Suicide by Cop' Arrested Without Incident

A standoff between Gloucester Twp. police and a Blackwood man ended without violence Monday afternoon.

A standoff in Blackwood between police and a man threatening "suicide by cop" brought out SWAT units and shut down roads Monday afternoon, but ultimately ended without incident.

No information about the man taken into custody was available at the time of his arrest.

Gloucester Township Deputy Police Chief David Harkins said officers responded to a call made by members of the man’s family. They informed police that he was suicidal, possibly armed, and might try to instigate law enforcement into gunning him down. 

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Police then began to search for the man in the area of the Maple Terrace apartment complex and the intersection of North Black Horse Pike and Church Street.

Carol Andrescavage said she was sitting in the Gloucester Township-Blackwood Rotary Library around 2:15 p.m. when she saw officers enter the library. At the time she did not know what or whom they were looking for. She soon followed their cruisers up the street to where the police had blocked off the intersection, which Harkins was barricaded to traffic as a precaution. 

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Nearby schools also were put on lockdown, including Blackwood Elementary, the Kingdom Charter School of Leadership and Our Lady of Hope Regional Catholic School.

Police eventually discovered the man at the Maple Terrace complex, where he was placed under arrest and transported to the Gloucester Township Police station.   


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