Authorities cordoned off Ridge Road from Bellevue Avenue, above, to Buena Vista Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A suicide with a firearm prompted a heavy turnout of police and armored vehicles in Rumson Sunday morning, a spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office said.
The incident occurred on Ridge Road across the street from the former home of rock star Bruce Springsteen.
Police were alerted at 6:37 a.m. by a 911 call, according to Charlie Webster, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.
For about three hours, authorities blocked off Ridge Road between Buena Vista Avenue and Bellevue Avenue, where heavily armored law enforcement personnel gathered at the intersection near Rumson Country Day School.
Webster said the Monmouth County Emergency Response Team was activated as a precautionary measure. No crime was committed, and there was no threat to the public, he told redbankgreen.
Rumson police Chief Scott Paterson told redbankgreen the response, which included officers from Fair Haven, Aberdeen, Hazlet, Howell Marlboro and other towns, was for officer protection.
The identity of the deceased was not released.
During the incident, the school sent out text alerts to the its community reporting that the area was in “lockdown,” and that police were using the site as a staging area for an incident that did not involve the institution or its personnel.
Afterward, the borough issued a Nixle notice that said, “There was a police situation this morning in the area of Ridge/Bellevue. Scene is no longer active – there was no threat to public safety.”
