Suspect Charged After Police-Involved Shooting Outside Home In Fort Lee, New Jersey
FORT LEE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A suspect has been charged after being shot by police in Fort Lee, New Jersey Sunday.
Prosecutors said the suspect pointed the gun at officers.
The Bergen County Prosecutor's office announced that Jaquan A. Suber, 29, had been charged late Sunday with possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose – specifically to use it against Fort Lee police officers. Suber was also charged with illegal possession of a handgun, pointing a firearm under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference, prosecutors said.
As CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported, heavily-armed police and hazmat teams flooded the 400 block of Summit Avenue in Fort Lee around 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
It was a shock to Julene Stassou, who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly a decade.
"I heard a few pops; thought it was maybe a tire popping because that sometimes happens. Then heard more pops like gunshots. Then heard a man scream, 'Get down!' At that point, I knew it was gunshots, so I picked up my phone, called 911," said neighbor Julene Stassou. "Doesn't make me feel good, because it's a very quiet neighborhood. We never have had any criminal – if it is criminal – any activity like this."
She tells 1010 WINS' Roger Stern dispatchers told her to stay in her home.
Police were called to 485 Summit Ave., which is suspect Suber's home. Prosecutors said Suber pointed the gun at officers as he stood outside his house.
"It resulted in officers discharging their weapons," said Fort Lee police Keith Bendul.
Prosecutors and police have not said why officers were initially called to the suspect's home. That lack of information frightened one neighbor, who was too afraid to show her face.
She woke up to the gunfire.
"I woke up to like three gunshots, and hearing, 'He has a gun!'" she said, "and that's when I came outside after I got dressed, and the guy was laying down already."
The surrounding neighborhood was shut down as police secured the crime scene.
"I see a whole bunch of cop cars and news reporters, and I'm confused, because stuff like that doesn't happen around here," said neighbor Sheila Ulloa.
Suber was hospitalized under police guard late Sunday night at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack. He was last listed in critical, but stable condition.
Several Fort Lee police officers were taken to Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood for evaluation, according to authorities. None were seriously injured.
