A 24-year-old man was found dead in a home in the Sicklerville section of Gloucester Township Thursday morning after what police say was an 13-hour standoff. During the siege, a police armored vehicle was peppered with shots after nearly a dozen rounds were fired from the barricaded home in the unit block of Hampshire Road.
Police say they did not injure the man or return fire, but did report he had sustained an injury after the incident was ended when police entered the home shortly before 9:30 a.m. Police Chief Harry Earle did not say the man was dead during a news conference moments after the incident was ended.
A woman was also taken from the home, police say. A neighbor said she was handcuffed. Officials did not report if she was a victim or is facing charges.
The local and regional school district serving the township canceled school Thursday. Earle said schools were closed "because it was a dangerous condition that we didn't want children or anyone exposed too."
Police say the incident started at 8:05 p.m. Wednesday with reports of multiple shots being fired outside a townhouse in the Brittany Woods section of the township. Responding officers took cover when they heard gunfire. Then an armored vehicle from the police tactical squad was hit with multiple shots when it responded for backup.
Officials say another armored vehicle was used to evacuate 18 nearby residents who waited out the standoff at a local fire station.
Other residents were advised to shelter in place. That's what Renee McGill did.
"I heard them saying, 'Mike, phone us or pick up the phone," McGill said. "Mike we just want to make sure everyone is OK in the house. Mike, we don't want to make things worse than they already are right now.'"
McGill said her daughter initially heard gun shots around 8 p.m. Wednesday while walking the family dog. McGill said she arrived home twenty minutes later and heard, "pop, pop, pop, pop" at around 8:30 p.m.
Through out the night and morning she gave a play-by-play account to friends in text messages.
"Headline news story...Barricade situation in my neighborhood...within my eyesight," McGill texted a friend. She watched the drama unfold from a rear window on the second floor of her home.
Police finally breached the door with an armored vehicle and a robot.
Officials say the incident is still under investigation and have not announced charges.
Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bduhart. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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