35-Year-Old Man Wanted For The Shooting Death Of A Woman Takes His Life After A 7-Hour Standoff With Police
Saturday, July 6, 2024, 5:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
TOMS RIVER, NJ.- On Friday, following a nearly seven-hour standoff with Police, a 35-year-old Manchester Township, New Jersey man wanted in connection with the June 27, 2024, shooting death of a 25-year-old Seaside Heights woman has taken his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, Maxwell Johnston, 35, of Manchester Township, New Jersey, who was wanted for the shooting death of Gabriella Caroleo, 25, of Seaside Heights, New Jersey, that occurred in Manchester Township on June 27, 2024, has taken his own life following a nearly 7-hour standoff at 1905 Ravenwood Drive in Toms River, New Jersey.
Toms River Township Police Chief reported, that during the standoff, Johnston had fired at police, prompting officers at the scene to report an active shooter situation.
“We thank everyone in the neighborhood for their patience as this situation concluded and there is no further danger to the public,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated.
Johnston was charged following an investigation that began on June 27, 2024, when shortly before 5:00 p.m., members of the Manchester Township Police Department responded to the area of Ridgeway and Hope Chapel Roads in the Township, following receiving a 911 Emergency Call reporting a gunshot victim.
Upon arrival, Police Officers found Gabriella Caroleo, 25, of Seaside Heights, suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound to her stomach. Ms. Caroleo was immediately airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center where she succumbed to her injury and was pronounced deceased.
A swift-moving and extensive investigation by Detectives of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the Manchester Township Police Department with the assistance of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit was able to identify Johnston as the suspect, and the individual responsible for Ms. Caroleo’s death.
On July 3, 2024, Ocean County Authorities charged Johnston with Murder and Weapons Offenses, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Johnston had remained at large until yesterday when members of the U.S. Marshals Service along with Ocean County law enforcement located Johnston at the Ravenwood Drive home and the standoff ensued.
“I’d like to commend the men and women in law enforcement that spent the day trying to bring this situation to a peaceful resolution. There were many tense moments and the men and women that were out there handled themselves professionally and thankfully none of them were injured,” Prosecutor Billhimer concluded.
