New Jersey Cops Shoot Elderly Man After Responding to Wrong Home


That’s when 76-year-old Gerald Skyes fired his shotgun through his door at who he believed were intruders trying to break into his home.

New Jersey State Police fired back and hit Skyes three times, shooting four rounds from a hand-gun through the innocent home owner’s sliding glass door.

New Jersey State Police fired four rounds through Gerald Sykes' sliding glass door, after police arrived at the wrong address and the elderly homeowner shot at them mistaking them for intruders.

New Jersey State Police fired four rounds through Gerald Sykes’ sliding glass door, after police arrived at the wrong address and the elderly homeowner shot at them, mistaking them for intruders.

Richard Kaser, a family friend and attorney, said Sykes went to get his shotgun after his wife woke him up when his dogs began barking.

When he looked out through his French doors leading to his deck, he saw the shadow of a person outside.

“He felt intruders were trying to get in and he was yelling to his wife to call 911,’  Rich Kaser told NJ.com.

“He thought there were bad people out there,” said Kaser.

Sykes was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital and reportedly in critical but stable condition and is expected to survive.

According to DailyMail, both troopers who mistakenly responded to Sykes’ residence were taken to Inspira Medical Center in Vineland, but were treated and released.

One was treated for a graze wound from the Sykes’ shotgun or a cut from the glass.

New Jersey’s attorney general said it was later determined the call didn’t come from Mr. Sykes’ residence, but that it’s not uncommon for police to follow up on hang up calls to err on the side of caution.

Although the initial story was that Sykes fired shots first, DailyMail reports Sykes’ friends and family stated a New Jersey State Trooper fired the first shots.

“One of the troopers shot first as Sykes stood in his living room,” according to Kaser.

Authorities stated Sykes was home with his wife at the time of the shooting.

After being shot, Sykes called his daughter, who called 911 to report her father had been shot.

Dispatchers then “facilitated Mr. Sykes coming out of his house so that he could receive medical treatment,” according to USAToday.

Kaser stated Sykes was ordered by police to come out of the house, even though he’d been shot three times and his shirt was soaked in blood as his wife assisted him out of the house.

As he exited his home, police ordered Sykes to lay face-down on the ground, and handcuffed him.

Kaser said the misunderstanding was “a tragic mistake.”



Source Article from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blacklistednews/hKxa/~3/U0vz20DE_7g/M.html

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes