Shots fired by police in Rumson neighborhood

RUMSON — Shots were fired early Friday morning in a Monmouth County neighborhood of multi-million-dollar homes.

The incident caused a stir in the community and led the county prosecutor to chide the public for spreading "misinformation."

Police converged on Rumson Road near the intersection with Avenue of Two Rivers after sunrise, residents told the Asbury Park Press. A photo by News 12's Jim Murdoch shows a sedan in the hedges along the road and at least 13 evidence markers behind it.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said late Friday afternoon that police from neighboring Fair Haven and other jurisdictions had responded around 4:45 a.m. to reports of burglaries in the area of Avenue of Two Rivers South and Shrewsbury Drive.

A Fair Haven officer spotted two "suspects" in a vehicle, leading to the officer opening fire and hitting one of the suspects, a 27-year-old man from Newark, prosecutors said. The suspect, who was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, was not publicly named by prosecutors on Friday. No charges were announced.

The NJPBA tweeted that one of its members was "recovering" after being involved in the shooting.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office later clarified that the officer had not been injured but had been hospitalized "as a precaution."

Assemblywoman Victoria Flynn, R-Monmouth, and Assemblymen Gerry Scharfenberger, R-Monmouth, used the incident to criticize the Murphy administration and said they were "deeply troubled" by reports of attempted car thefts involving gunfire.

“We have become aware of a degree of misinformation about this incident that has been circulating on social media and online, and we urge the public and the media to avoid speculation until this investigation has determined the relevant facts with certainty,” Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said in a written statement. “More information about this incident will be released as it becomes available.”