A Jackson man who barricaded himself in a shed while armed with a shotgun Wednesday had tried to light another man on fire before the eight-hour standoff that ended when police used tear gas and a tactical vehicle to take him into custody, authorities said.
John Abramski, 50, was charged with attempted murder and a weapons charge after a SWAT team forced him out of the shed, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Jackson Township police were called about 1:30 p.m. to a home in the 300 block of New Central Avenue for a report of a woman yelling and fleeing the home, Billhimer said. The woman later told police the man in the house had a gun and was acting irrationally, Billhimer said in a statement.
“During the investigation it was discovered that Abramski had poured lighter fluid on (a 39-year-old man) and repeatedly attempted to light him on fire with a propane torch,” Billhimer said in a statement.
The victim was able to run from the house, the prosecutor said.
When police confronted Abramski in the driveway, he ran back into the house where he picked up a loaded shotgun and barricaded himself in a shed in the backyard, Billhimer said.
Members of the Ocean County Regional SWAT team entered the home and found several weapons inside, Billhimer said.
The SWAT team used a tactical vehicle called “Bearcat” to breach the shed, Billhimer said.
“Abramski had the shotgun pointed at himself and refused to surrender,” the prosecutor said.
During the standoff, students at nearby Jackson Memorial High School were placed on lockdown and parents were later asked to pick them up from an entrance away from New Central Avenue.
After hours of negotiations with SWAT negotiators, tear gas was deployed and Abramski was arrested, Billhimer said.
Abramski was held pending a court hearing.
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