Police in Camden, New Jersey shot and killed an armed man who authorities said threatened officers late Friday night. Officials said early Saturday morning that the fatal shooting appeared to be suicide by police.
The incident began about 11:20 p.m., when Camden County Police officers responded to a corner in the city's Cramer Hill neighborhood for the report of a man threatening to kill himself and police. A preliminary investigation, officials said, revealed that the suspect himself called 9-1-1 as he was driving in East Camden and told the dispatcher that he had a gun, wanted to die and would shoot police officers.
Officers found the man's vehicle unoccupied at Bergen and Harrison avenues, but when they got out of their car to investigate, the armed man approached them and pointed his gun at them, according to a police news release. Two officers opened fire on the man, fatally wounding him.
Police have not yet identified the suspect, but said he is in his 30s and was prohibited from possessing a gun due to a prior conviction for drug distribution. Officers at the scene recovered the loaded firearm he had been carrying, authorities said.
As is protocol with any police-involved shooting, authorities said the officers involved will be assigned to administrative duty pending the outcome of an investigation.
