The man who was shot and killed by state troopers during an investigation into a auto theft in New Jersey has been identified as a 35-year-old convict being investigated for carjacking.
Daniel Wolfe of Parlin was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon in Union after the suspected carjacker encountered police who had been conducting surveillance on the stolen car, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office. The office's shooting response team is now looking into the man's death.
The attorney general's office says officers assigned to a carjacking task force were surveilling the Jeep, which had been stolen from a car wash in Bloomfield on April 13. The owner of the New Look Hand Car Wash told NBC 4 New York the driver of Jeep had left the car running with his keys in the ignition, and when he went to pay for the wash in the office, the car was stolen.
Eight days later, the carjacking task force staking out near the stolen SUV at the Union Township apartment complex. When police converged on the vehicle with Wolfe inside, Wolfe allegedly put the SUV in reverse and rammed into a parked car.
He then allegedly changed gears and began driving the car toward one of the troopers, who fired several shots. Wolfe was hit in the shoulder and chest, and his vehicle continued onto a nearby road, where it hit a second parked vehicle and came to a stop.
Afterward, the attorney general's office says, troopers pulled Wolfe from the Jeep and gave him medical aid until EMS arrived on scene. Wolfe was taken to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead.
According to New Jersey Department of Corrections records, Wolfe spent five years in prison on a bevy of charges including burglary and resisting arrest. He was released from prison in January.
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Three troopers involved in the shooting were taken to Overlook Medical Center in Summit for evaluation but were later released.
An attorney for the state troopers said that the state trooper who shot Wolfe responded appropriately.
"The response by the New Jersey State Police was textbook, and the citizens of New Jersey are fortunate to have these brave individuals putting their lives on the line every day," he said in a statement.
Neighbors at the Mill Run Garden apartment complex were startled by the violent scene as they returned home from work Tuesday.
"You're praying nobody gets killed, and then you're praying it's not a fatal police shooting. And then if it is, you're praying it's justifiable, so there's a lot of things going on in your mind at this time," said Nadina Thomas.
