New Jersey State Police shot a suspected car thief in Irvington in a confrontation caught on surveillance video from a nearby store, authorities said.
Prosecutors say four troopers tried to pull over 31-year-old Steve Montgomery, of Newark, near S. 20th and 18th streets around 10:30 a.m. Monday after noticing the minivan he was driving matched the description of a vehicle reported stolen in an armed carjacking in Newark Sunday.
Surveillance video from a nearby liquor store shows plainclothes officers in an unmarked minivan and sedan box in the gray minivan the suspect was in. One of the troopers gets out of his vehicle and approaches Montgomery, at which point the video shows Montgomery drive up on the curb.
The suspect allegedly headed toward the trooper, according to prosecutors, and the trooper opened fire, wounding the Newark resident. The surveillance video shows multiple troopers with their weapons drawn.
Montgomery kept driving and crashed into another car on Grove Street near Clinton, authorities said. He was brought to a hospital after the crash and placed into custody. It wasn't clear where Montgomery was shot, but authorities said he is expected to be OK.
Law enforcement sources say they are looking into whether the minivan Montgomery allegedly stole was used as a getaway vehicle in robberies in the Newark/Irvington area after it was taken.
No troopers were injured in the fray and the driver of the car Montgomery hit was not hurt.
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Charges against Montgomery are pending, prosecutors said. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney.
