Police fatally shoot man in Little Egg Harbor

The Attorney General's Shooting Response Team is investigating a the fatal shooting of a Little Egg Harbor Township man by the Ocean County SWAT team Saturday night.

Patrick Fennell, 57 of Little Egg Harbor Township, was fatally shot around 10:30 p.m. in a wooded area near his Sycamore Avenue home, according to a statement from the Attorney General's Office issued Sunday night.

Fennell's wife called the Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department to report that her husband was behaving strangely, according to a preliminary investigation by the Attorney General's Shooting Response Team.

She reported that he was in the basement of their home, where he had weapons, and she thought she heard gunfire, according to the statement.

Little Egg Harbor Township Police responded and contacted the county SWAT team for assistance. After the SWAT team arrived, Fennell exited his home and fled to a wooded area, according to the statement.

Police reported that they saw Fennell holding a gun when he exited his home.

The police spread out and contained Fennell in the wooded area, according to the statement.

At approximately 10:30 p.m., officers confronted Fennell, who allegedly was armed with a handgun, and an officer or officers from the SWAT team fired multiple rounds, striking him, according to the statement from the Attorney General's Office.

Police recovered a handgun at the scene of the shooting, the statement said. Fennell died at the scene.

The Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team is continuing its investigation into the shooting. No additional information, including the names of the officers involved, was released.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story said the incident happened in Egg Harbor Township in Atlantic County due to an error in the statement from the Attorney General's Office. The incident occurred in Little Egg Harbor, which is in Ocean County.