New Jersey

Officials Identify Man Killed in Princeton Standoff

What to Know

  • Authorities identified the man killed by police after an armed standoff at a restaurant near Princeton University
  • Officials said Wednesday that 56-year-old Scott Mielentz most recently lived in Lawrenceville, New Jersey
  • It was not clear what sparked the roughly five-hour standoff that started around 10 a.m. Tuesday

Authorities identified the man killed by police after an armed standoff at a restaurant near Princeton University.

Officials said Wednesday that 56-year-old Scott Mielentz most recently lived in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, but was previously a Newtown, Pennsylvania, resident.

Other details about the shooting were not available.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal says no one else was injured Tuesday at the Panera Bread restaurant across from Princeton's campus.

It was not clear what sparked the roughly five-hour standoff that started around 10 a.m. when the armed man allegedly entered the establishment, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. The standoff ended shortly before 3 p.m.

During the stanndoff "negotiators attempted unsuccessfully to get the suspect to surrender peacefully," the state’s attorney general said in a press release following the incident.

Armed officers were staged outside the restaurant with their weapons drawn during part of the negotiations.

The confrontation led authorities to shut down Princeton's downtown area, and two campus buildings were evacuated as a precaution. The university is on spring break.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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