A husband and wife were gunned down outside their New Jersey home by a neighbor, who later died by suicide following an hours-long standoff with law enforcement, according to authorities.
The violence unfolded early Monday evening in the sleepy Jersey Shore community of Bayville in Berkeley Township, near Amherst Beach, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. Police were called around 4:45 p.m. to a home in the area along Drake Drive and discovered two people each suffering from a gunshot wound.
Both victims were airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center where they were listed in critical but stable condition as of Tuesday afternoon, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. Their names have not yet been released, but officials have confirmed they’re married couple.
During a subsequent investigation into the bloodshed, authorities were able to identify the gunman as the victims’ neighbor, 54-year-old John Adamo. Police said he first shot his male neighbor, who was outside at the time, before he fired into the couple’s home, wounding the man’s wife.
Adamo then fled and camped out inside his own house while law enforcement, including the Ocean County SWAT team, descended on the scene. They spent hours trying to coax the him outside, but to no avail. After nearly three hours, they forced entry and found Adamo dead in the upstairs bedroom, Billhimer said.
The prosecutor’s office said he suffered from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
While a motive has not been released, there had been a history disputes between the neighbors, as documented by the Berkeley police, the Asbury Park Press reported.
An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
