Man begs for bullet before NJ police shooting, officials say

⚠️ Prosecutors say a Bernards police officer shot an armed man after a lengthy standoff Monday.

➡️ Authorities said officers spent more than 30 minutes trying to convince the man to drop a knife.

🔴 The 31-year-old was hospitalized in stable condition and later charged.

BERNARDS — A New Jersey man told police officers to shoot him in the head during a tense standoff, according to authorities.

On Monday, Bernards police officers found Jake Smolinsky, 31, of Asbury Park near Mountainview Boulevard, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office. Around 3:30 p.m., the police department received a 911 text requesting a well-being check. The message said a man was bleeding and possibly intoxicated.

Smolinsky was holding a knife and sitting in the driver's seat of a Subaru sedan, prosecutors said. Authorities said he was visibly injured but didn't elaborate on the extent of his wounds.

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Jake Smolinsky (Somerset County Prosecutor's Office/Canva)

Officers spent more than 30 minutes trying to de-escalate the situation

According to prosecutors, police officers spent more than half an hour trying to convince Smolinsky to exit the vehicle and drop the knife so that they could treat his injuries.

Instead, police said, Smolinsky pointed his fingers at his head and told them to "put one right here." Then, he got out of the car and, holding the knife, walked toward a Bernards police officer, according to prosecutors.

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The officer fired their service weapon once and shot Smolinsky in the abdomen, prosecutors said. He was hospitalized and was in stable condition as of Tuesday afternoon.

Later that day, prosecutors charged Smolinsky with second-degree aggravated assault and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He was served with the charges at the hospital.

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