Hostage situation on Chelsea Ave, Long Branch comes to an end

UPDATE – After a 9-hour harrowing standoff in Long Branch, the suspect holding a two-week-old baby hostage set fire to his house, then came out the front door shooting at police in an attempt to escape.  Officers returned fire killing the suspect, and then learned he had the baby with him behind the shield. The baby survived the ordeal unharmed.

By Patty Booth O’Neill – Around 5pm on Friday a hostage situation began to develop in Long Branch after a police officer from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office was shot while trying to serve a warrant to a man on a homicide investigation at an apartment on Chelsea Ave, according to an official press release.

Upon their arrival the subject shot through the door and hit a police officer around the ankle area. He was treated at the hospital and released the same day.

As police backed off after shots were fired, the subject barricaded himself inside the apartment holding a 2-week-old infant hostage.

Hundreds of police officers from multiple towns converged on the area, helping to block off any street connecting to Chelsea Ave, redirecting traffic, keeping cars away. Police ordered all approaching vehicles to turn off their headlights thus eliminating any back lighting that would silhouette officers, making them more visible.

North and southbound trains to Long Branch were stopped during the ordeal. Passengers were met with buses at train stations such as Little Silver that took them to connecting trains, circumventing the LB station.

As the sky darkened and the standoff ran deeper into the night, SWAT teams arrived, marching down South Seventh turning right onto Chelsea. It was a daunting sight to see. Police began evacuating homes along the street and families were encouraged to find warmth at a home with someone they knew, or were taken to a warm place to wait.

Spectators came and went as the night stretched into the late hours. Some knew the family, offered The Link personal information and photos of the man in the house. News crews waited for any sign of action every time more police cars passed under the yellow crime scene tape making their way towards the apartment house.

The night was eerily quiet in spite of what was going on, people watching silently on the corner of Chelsea and South Seventh. Once in a while the quiet was interrupted by a news crew describing the scene live for TV. Earlier in the day they had used helicopters to get video, but later the area was designated a no-fly zone.

Thousands of people were watching the scene play out live on The Link News Facebook page, praying for the safety of the baby and for the incident to end peacefully.

Around 11:00 police moved the crime scene tape back about 50 feet making everyone move with it. More police cars arrived parking perpendicular to the street blocking most of the view. Everyone watching knew something was about to happen, keeping their attention on the flashing lights at 274 Chelsea Ave, waiting for sounds that might come from the house. Midnight rolled around, news people left.

At around 2am, the subject reportedly lit a fire in the apartment that broke out into a blaze.

Allegedly the man handed the baby unharmed to police then came out firing his weapon. Police returned fire killing the subject.

To watch videos of that night and of the house on fire go to the Link Facebook page at Facebook.com/theLinknews