***UPDATED INFORMATION INCLUDING IDENTITY OF DECEDENT AND OFFICERS***
For Immediate Release: November 10, 2021
Office of The Attorney General
– Andrew J. Bruck, Acting Attorney General
Office of Public Integrity and Accountability
– Thomas J. Eicher, Executive Director
For Further Information:
Media Inquiries-
Peter Aseltine
OAGpress@njoag.gov
Long Branch, N.J. – The Attorney General’s Office is conducting an investigation of a fatal police shooting that occurred on November 6, 2021 in Long Branch, N.J. One male civilian sustained fatal injuries.
The decedent has been identified as Mark D. Walker II, 34, of Woodbridge, Va. The members of the Monmouth County Emergency Response Team who fired at Mr. Walker are Patrolman Eric Voorand of the Manalapan Township Police Department, Patrolman Daniel Murphy of the Howell Township Police Department, and Patrolman Omar Akel of the Middletown Township Police Department.
According to the preliminary investigation, members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office were attempting to execute a warrant in connection with a homicide investigation at 274 Chelsea Avenue, Apartment 1, in Long Branch on the evening of November 5. As officers were executing the warrant, Mr. Walker moved into a room of the apartment and shot one of the officers in the lower leg as the officer approached the room. At that point, the officers repositioned outside the apartment and Mr. Walker barricaded himself inside. Members of the Monmouth County Emergency Response Team were deployed to the scene.
Around 2:00 a.m. on November 6, a fire erupted in the apartment and Mr. Walker fled the building, discharging a firearm multiple times as he exited. Officers Voorand, Murphy, and Akel returned fire, hitting Mr. Walker, who was later pronounced dead at the scene.
The officer who was shot in the lower leg was transported to a local hospital and discharged later in the evening.
This investigation is being conducted pursuant to Attorney General Directive 2019-4, which implements the statutory requirement that the Attorney General’s Office conduct the investigation of any death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody, and which establishes clear standards and procedures for conducting such investigations.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.
###
