South Brunswick Man Shot, Killed During Standoff

A 28-year-old man was shot and killed by police on Wednesday night when he assaulted an officer during a standoff inside his South Brunswick home

Police were called to the Hannah Drive home of Andrew Murnieks by his mother who said had stopped taking his medication for schizophrenia. According to the New Jersey Attorney General's office, a South Brunswick officer approached the home and Murnieks raised a knife above his head in a threatening manner.

The County Special Operations Response Team was summoned to the home and tried to negotiate with Murnieks. After several hours the team entered the home; Murnieks assaulted an officer  who fired a single shot, hitting him in the chest. Murnieks was treated at the scene before being transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was produced dead at 11:35 p.m.

South Brunswick Police have been called to the Murnieks home on other occasions. His brother words as a South Brunswick police dispatcher according to the Star-Ledger.

Neighbors tell News 12 New Jersey that some homes were evacuated during the standoff and police used force to enter the home. Others told the Star-Ledger they heard more than one shot fired and saw a flash before police entered the home.

The incident remains under investigation by the Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team.