BRICK
TOWNSHIP - The Attorney General’s Shooting
Response Team is conducting an investigation
into the circumstances of a shooting early
today outside a home in Brick Township, where
a state trooper shot and wounded a man who
had led troop cars on a pursuit on I-195.
During the pursuit, the man apparently fired
a gun through the sunroof of his SUV.
The
man who was shot, Michael Zaun, 30, of Delanco,
was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center,
where he is being treated. His wounds are
not considered life-threatening. None of
the three troopers involved in the incident
were injured.
According
to the preliminary investigation, the pursuit
began when troopers tried to stop a white
Nissan Pathfinder after observing a moving
violation on Route 29 in West Trenton at
approximately 12:30 a.m. today. The driver,
later identified as Zaun, attempted to elude
troopers and continued onto I-195 eastbound.
Video taken by the onboard camera in a pursuing
troop car shows what looks like multiple
muzzle flashes from a gun just above the
roof of the SUV. A trooper can be heard
on the tape exclaiming that the subject
is firing a gun.
The
pursuit ended at a home on Carolina Avenue
in Brick Township, where Zaun pulled his
Pathfinder onto the lawn and ran to the
front door of the house. Three troopers
exited two troop cars to apprehend Zaun
and any other occupants who might be in
the vehicle. There were no other occupants.
The troopers shouted numerous commands for
Zaun to get on the ground, but he did not
obey them. One trooper fired two shots at
Zaun, striking him in the arm and upper
body.
Zaun’s
SUV was impounded and taken to State Police
Hamilton Station pending an application
for a search warrant. The search has not
been conducted and no gun has been recovered
at this time. Detectives learned that Zaun’s
vehicle was involved in a police pursuit
in Bucks County, Pa., earlier on Tuesday
evening, but the driver was not apprehended
during that incident. No charges have been
filed yet against Zaun. No further details
of the shooting will be released at this
time because of the ongoing investigation.
The
shooting is being investigated by the Attorney
General’s Shooting Response Team.
Under an Attorney General Directive, the
Shooting Response Team, made up of deputy
attorneys general, detectives of the Division
of Criminal Justice and detectives of the
New Jersey State Police Major Crime Unit,
are dispatched to the scene to handle investigations
of shootings involving state law enforcement
officers or county SWAT teams.
