According to the preliminary investigation, the Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department responded to a 911 call from Fennell’s wife reporting that her husband was behaving in a strange manner. She reported that he was in the basement of their home, where he had weapons, and she heard gunfire. After the township police arrived at the residence on Sycamore Drive, Fennell came out of the residence and fled into a wooded area. Police officers reported that they saw Fennell holding a handgun when he left the residence. Township police called for assistance from the Ocean County Regional SWAT Team.

The SWAT team arrived and officers spread out to contain Fennell in a wooded area. At approximately 10:30 p.m., officers confronted Fennell, who allegedly was armed with a handgun. A member of the SWAT team fired multiple rounds, striking Fennell. Police recovered a handgun at the scene of the shooting. Fennell was pronounced dead at the scene.

No further details of the shooting are being released at this time because of the ongoing investigation.

The incident remains under investigation by the Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team. Under Attorney General Directives, 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 SWAT teams and task forces.

The Attorney General Directives governing investigations of police-involved shootings are located at the following links:

www.nj.gov/oag/dcj/agguide/directives/2006-5_SRT_OIS.pdf

www.nj.gov/oag/dcj/agguide/directives/dir2006_5.pdf

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