Crime & Safety

Police: Fired Weapon in Brick Apartment Prompted Point Boro Manhunt

More details unfold about domestic incident hours before manhunt.

More details are unfolding this evening about the incident that prompted a manhunt for the man who died today after shooting himself as police teams closed in on him on a Point Pleasant Beach rooftop. 

Robert F. Terry III reportedly discharged his handgun inside an apartment in Brick, while a woman and her child - whom were not identified - were inside, according to a statement released this evening from Brick Police Captain Robert Mazza. 

According to the statement "during the initial domestic incident in Brick, at approximately 0050 am," Terry reportedly discharged his handgun once inside the apartment into the ceiling/attic area.

The victim and her child were in the apartment at the time, but no one was injured, police said. He then fled on foot, and Brick police searched the area but did not locate him. 

At approximately 8:45 the next morning, off-duty Brick police officer Mark Catalina observed a subject matching the description getting into a taxi. 

"Subsequently, this led to the search/incident in  Point Beach," Mazza wrote in the statement.  Mazza added that no information regarding the victim and child will be disseminated.

Robert F. Terry III, 32, of Monmouth Ave., who lived in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown, was pronounced dead at 12:55 p.m. today at Jersey Shore Medical Center, according to a prepared statement from the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

As police searched for Terry Wednesday morning, schools in Point Borough and Point Beach were put on lock down for about an hour.

According to Al Della Fave, a spokesperson for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, the incident began as a domestic violence event on Hooper Avenue in Brick at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. Terry fled that location, and Brick police issued a description of him to area police departments.  

Terry was then seen in Brick getting into the taxi, when was heading to the train station in Point Pleasant Beach. 

Brick Police called Point Beach police after he was spotted, and police located the suspect  on foot in the downtown area after a motor vehicle stop on the taxi.  

At about 8:48 a.m. yesterday, Terry was seen was in the vicinity of 528 Arnold Ave. Shortly after, he was located on the roof of that location, above Creative Experience, identified as a nightclub for teens. Brick SWAT members gained access to the roof.  

In the presence of the officers, he shot himself in the head with a .25 caliber handgun, according to Della Fave.

Local business owners and members of the community continued to praise the response of police officials and school administrators, with comments on Patch. 

One person commenting on Patch, identified as Ann, wrote: "I am so thankful to all who kept us safe yesterday. I have grandchildren in the schools, the lockdown with a positive outcome was good for them. It was more like a drill, helping them if in the future there is ever a serious issue in their school. People like the gunman are unpredictable. I believe it is better to be cautious than to be sorry. " 

Marie Struble, a Wall resident who manages Creative Experience, told Patch that she watched the incident unfold on her businessses' roof on the news. 

"The business was closed, so nobody was in jeopardy thank God, but we frequently go down there for maintenance, and to show parents and their children the business to book parties," Struble said, adding that the business will be open today and this weekend for regular business. "Thank God no one was there."



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