SWAT standoff near tribute for murdered Keyport athlete

KEYPORT — The area of a fundraiser for the family of a former high school football and baseball player at a restaurant turned into a standoff involving the Monmouth County SWAT team on Sunday night.

The Monmouth County Emergency Response Team was called to the area of the Keyport Uptown Bar & Grill on Broad Street, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Charles Webster. He would not disclose further details about the incident.

A flier on the restaurant's Facebook page showed that a tribute to Evan Smutz, 20, was planned for the afternoon. Smutz was shot to death in his Keyport apartment in August.

News 12 New Jersey initially reported a person involved in a fight at the event went across the street and barricaded themselves in a second-floor apartment. However, police have not confirmed that account to New Jersey 101.5.

But the station later reported that according to Police Chief Mark Hafner, two incidents unrelated to the tribute occurred. The first involved a barricade in a house across the street. The second involved a disorderly conduct incident behind the bar.

Photos posted by RLS Metro Breaking News showed a large police presence, including a MOCERT vehicle. The Patch of Middletown reported police from several surrounding towns also responded to the scene

John Curtin, 19, also of Keyport, turned himself in to the NYPD in connection to the shooting. He was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder, first-degree robbery, second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Correction: An earlier version of this story described the standoff as at the tribute for Curtin. 

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.

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