LAKEWOOD, N.J., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A young patrolman was gunned down Friday when he pulled over to question a pedestrian in Lakewood, N.J., police said.
Christopher Matlosz, 27, was shot three times at close range, the Asbury Park Press reported. Witnesses told police Matlosz, sitting in his patrol car, was talking to a young man who suddenly pulled out a handgun and began firing.
Police were searching for a suspect identified as Jahmell W. Crockam, 19.
Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford said the gunman fired three times, hitting Matlosz every time. Matlosz was pronounced dead just before 5 p.m. EST at Jersey Shore Medical Center.
"Our investigation so far indicates that the officer was conducting a routine kind of stop," Ford said. "The individual was a pedestrian and there was an exchange, not hostile".
Witnesses said Matlosz did not have time to draw his gun, KYW-TV, Philadelphia, reported.
Matlosz was engaged to be married and is survived by his mother and a brother, KYW said. UPI
