According to the preliminary investigation, John H. Fetter, 49, was fatally shot by members of the Atlantic County Emergency Response Team at approximately 7:39 p.m. outside his residence in the 700 block of North Burghley Avenue in Ventnor. The events leading to the shooting began earlier in the day, when Fetter allegedly threatened his father with a shotgun. At some point, an altercation between Fetter and his father resulted in the father grabbing the shotgun and tussling with Fetter over the shotgun. During this altercation, a call was placed from the residence to the non-emergency police line for the Ventnor Police Department, but the call was ended before the police department established communication. After this call, Ventnor Police proceeded to the residence to investigate. Shortly thereafter, a 911 call was made from the residence and yelling could be heard in the background.
Police arrived at the residence at approximately 6:22 p.m. As police arrived and shortly thereafter, officers heard shots from inside the residence. At this point, Ventnor police officers established a perimeter and were able to remove Fetter’s parents to safety. As the Atlantic County Emergency Response Team arrived, shots were fired out of the residence, striking a residence across the street. During the standoff, police established communication with Fetter and attempted unsuccessfully to get him to surrender peacefully. At approximately 7:38 p.m., Fetter exited the residence and while standing on the porch, pointed a handgun at members of the SWAT team. A single shot was heard, after which multiple shots were fired at Fetter by SWAT team officers striking Fetter. Fetter was pronounced dead at the scene. The .22-caliber handgun allegedly wielded by Fetter was recovered at the scene.
No further details of the shooting are being released at this time because of the ongoing investigation.
The shooting remains under investigation 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 State Police Major Crime Unit, are dispatched to the scene to handle investigations of shootings involving state troopers or officers employed by county prosecutors as detectives/investigators or members of county emergency response teams and task forces.
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