Man shot multiple times by police in Butler, NJ home

BUTLER, New Jersey (WABC) -- An investigation is underway after a man was shot by police on a quiet street in Butler, New Jersey Thursday night. His condition is still unknown.

Butler police responded to Belleview Avenue, where an officer shot the man multiple times around 7:30 p.m.

When police surrounded the home, the neighbors took notice.

"There was a lot of commotion. All the neighbors were out. People coming down the street. This place was absolutely packed," said neighbor Lauren Incorvaia.

And by nightfall, police surrounded the tiny house where a 23-year old man was shot by police, according to witnesses, inside of his grandparents home.

One neighbor, who didn't want her face on camera, saw the man brought out on a stretcher.

"When I saw him, I said he's dead and then I started crying and shaking. Oh the kid's dead," said eyewitness Marilyn Russin.

Police rushed him to an ambulance and to a waiting helicopter for the flight to the hospital. Investigators have not released his name.

"Before I saw his name out there I pretty much figured it was him and it didn't surprise me at all," said Amanda DuBois, who went to school with the man.

She says he had been in trouble with the law previously.

"It is sad. It is, I mean I wish the best for him. I don't wish any harm on him but it's definitely sad that's what he had to go through," said DuBois.

The man lived with his grandparents, neighbors say. Earlier another neighbor said police were actively looking for the man.

"There was a guy on the loose and they were looking for him," said neighbor Steve Silversey.

"There were a bunch of police looking for him. The grandmother wouldn't let them in the house," said neighbor Nikki Russin.

Police won't say why the man was allegedly wanted but neighbors say officers went to the back door with a police dog.

In a statement, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said it, "can confirm that an incident occurred leading to a Butler police officer discharging his weapon."

But Eyewitness News has learned the 23 year old was shot up to four times in his chest and torso.

"He's still alive but you never know. His condition is critical," said DuBois.

Nikki Russin said his grandmother was clearly distraught.

"She was on her knees crying inside. Because where my window is I can see in their door and she was crying," she said.

The officers may have been responding to reports of a break-in.

"The police told me there was a guy on the loose," said Steve Silversey, an eyewitness.

Eyewitness News has learned that the man had been arrested previously for burglary and had led police on a chase through the neighborhood before.