1 in custody after police-involved shooting in Clark, mayor says

CLARK— Police are investigating a police-involved shooting that began with a man wielding a machete outside condominiums on Cellar Avenue.

On Tuesday night, the Union County Prosecutor's Office confirmed that there was a police-involved shooting, but no additional information was provided.

Clark police sent out a Nixle alert informing residents that Lake Avenue would be closed from Oak Ridge Road into Scotch Plains "due to a police investigation." Officers directed traffic around the crime scene and at one point, advised onlookers to head back to their homes as authorities investigated.

Clark Mayor Sal Bonaccorso told NJ Advance Media that no officers were injured and police have a suspect in custody. Witnesses at the scene claim a man and woman were having an argument outside a condo on Cellar Avenue when the man began swinging a two-foot long machete. Sal Burkhardt, one of the witnesses, told NJ Advance Media the man charged at police officers when they arrived. One of the officers fired his weapon, striking the man, who was still conscious when he was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, according to the report. His condition is not known.

Following the incident, officers asked witnesses to remain in the area for questioning as they continued to investigate. Police were still on the scene as of about 9:40 p.m. Tuesday.

Cellar Avenue is located a few blocks away from Oak Ridge Park, less than a mile from the Scotch Plains border. The incident took place in a residential area near the busy Lake Avenue/Raritan Road intersection.

This is a developing story. Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.