Man killed after shooting at cop in Burlington ID'd

BURLINGTON, N.J. - September 18, 2012 (WPVI) -- Authorities have identified the man who fired at police, and was shot to death by an officer, in Burlington, New Jersey.

Jason T. Bunnell, 32, with a last known address in Mount Laurel, died after the confrontation late Monday night.

The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said a Burlington City Police officer was responding to a report of a suspicious person shortly before midnight at the Willis Honda dealership on the 1200 block of US 130, near the border with Burlington Township.

According to the county prosecutor's office that suspect, now identified as Bunnell, fled on foot with the officer in pursuit.

The foot chase led to an overgrown lot near the dealership, investigators said, when Bunnell fired a shot at the officer.

The officer, who was not hit, returned fire and killed Bunnell. The suspect's gun was recovered.

The officer was evaluated and released from an area hospital. He will be placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.

"it's under investigation by the prosecutor's office, it is a police matter. We're just happy to hear that our officers are good and we hope the prosecutor's office moves forward and we'll help them any way we can," said Mayor James Fazzone of Burlington.

The late-night manager of Willis Honda, Joe D'Aurizio, said he was worried about the cleaning crew, and was relieved to hear no one else was hurt.

"No one wants to get a phone call or come in to work to find that something like this happened at the dealership, a place where we conduct business and work," said D'Aurizio. "It's terrible and unfortunate and thank God people from the office weren't hurt."

The prosecutor's office said the name of the police officer his name will not be released at this time.

The Burlington County Prosecutor's office said it will review the investigation once it has been completed to determine whether the officer's use of force was appropriate.

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