Fire at Burlington County home turns into active shooter situation: officials

PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. - Roads were closed for a major police response in Pemberton Township Saturday when what began as a fire in the Burlington County community, turned into a chaotic active shooter incident.

Jasmin Taylor lives on Woodland Avenue and says the active shooter incident happened two doors away. She shared a Facebook live video of police running with long guns and another with a stretcher.

"My kids were outside. They said it smelled like barbecue, so we didn’t think anything of it and then we heard what sounded like a gunshot, so I told all the kids to come in," Taylor explained. "Next thing you know, we see all the cops down there and madness ensued after that."

The encounter unfolded around 3:15 Saturday afternoon. The Burlington County 911 supervisor told FOX 29 first responders were called for smoke coming from a home on Woodland Avenue. The situation quickly escalated when they arrived.

Neighbors talked about the danger. Mark Ruquet said, "I think it’s pretty sad that that did happen. I hope nobody else was injured."

Larry Blinn added, "Always worry about the police, the fire, the ambulance and, of course, it’s a sad thing for somebody to confront the police."

Text message alerts for the active shooter went out to neighbors around 4 p.m. That was lifted about 40 minutes later, though a good stretch of Lakehurst Road remained closed well into the night.

"I wasn’t able to get through, obviously, and, yeah, I actually had to go through the woods to try to find a shortcut," neighbor Iris Rivera said. "I’ve been told now I have to walk home."

While many questions remain, Taylor talked about man who lived in the home at the center of the investigation, saying, "Kind of stays to himself. I know his father passed away, I think, at the beginning of the year. So, since then, he’s kind of been in the house.

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office is leading the investigation.

On Sunday, the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) announced it is investigating the incident that occurred Saturday, calling it a 'fatal police-involved shooting.'

The identity of the decedent, who they say is an adult male, is not being released at this time. 

The AG's office said a firearm was recovered near the deceased man.

The investigation is ongoing.