Gunman Dead As 5-Hour Standoff At Princeton Panera Bread Ends

PRINCETON, NJ — A gunman is dead after a nearly 5-hour standoff at a Princeton Panera Bread Tuesday, ending an ordeal that led to evacuations at Princeton University and neighboring buildings as well as a shelter-in-place at nearby schools.

The state Attorney General's Office confirmed that the unidentified gunman was shot dead by police after hours of negotiations. The gunman has not been identified pending the notification of family members.

The Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team is investigating the circumstances of the shooting.

The gunman initially entered the restaurant at about 10 a.m. Customers and employees were able to flee the building, and police secured the perimeter of the restaurant, according to the Attorney General's Office.

During the next five hours, police negotiated with the man in an attempt to get him to surrender peacefully. Those attempts were unsuccessful, and the standoff ended when the man was fatally shot by police at about 3 p.m., the Attorney General's Office said. No one else was injured in the incident.

The gunman was pronounced dead at the scene. No further information was immediately released, due to the investigation.

At about 11 p.m., Nassau Street was reopened in both directions. Before the announcement of the fatal police-involved shooting, Princeton police had sought to calm the public through a series of emergency messages:

"The situation is contained within the store. The immediate area of the store has been evacuated and police continue to negotiate with the armed man. The immediate area of Nassau Street between Washington and Witherspoon Street is closed to all traffic. Stay away from the area. Until further notice."

An automated phone message reported shots fired sent out by Princeton University at about 12 p.m. proved to be false. Princeton students were reportedly on their phones near the site, alerting their parents. A man in a nearby office reported that no shots had been fired after 2.5 hours.

Residents were told to stay out of the area. According to a university alert, two close-by Princeton University campus buildings — Henry House and Scheide Caldwell House — were evacuated. As of 5 p.m., no update was given on the status of those buildings.

"Police have shut down Nassau Street along the front of campus and people are urged to stay away from the area," the university said in a statement. "It is not known whether the gunman has any connection to the University. Classes are not in session, as this is the week of spring break."

According to Planet Princeton, police reportedly found the gunman's car — a Ford Focus with Pennsylvania tags. Details about the car's location weren't immediately available. Sources told the website that the man was a veteran.

Police vehicles and a town trash truck were being used to block off the streets, the Princeton Packet reported. The man appeared to be suicidal, an officer told the newspaper. Panera Bread employees were evacuated to a nearby Italian market.

Princeton Public Schools were under a shelter-in-place, but after school activities and dismissal were on schedule.

"We received word at approximately 10:35 a.m. about an incident involving an individual at Panera Bread on Nassau Street," Superintendent of Schools Steve Cochrane announced. "As a safety precaution, all Princeton Public Schools are sheltering in place. We don’t believe there is any immediate threat to our students. Police have contained the situation and will let us know when we are able to lift the shelter in place and return to our normal schedule. We will keep you updated as we learn more."

There was a lockdown at the Princeton Public Library that has since been lifted. Parking meters are not being enforced during the standoff.

The Attorney General's independent prosecutor directive establishes strict procedures for conducting the investigations into the use of deadly force by police. The Attorney General is required to review all investigations, and in some instances, conduct them.

"The directive provides that unless the undisputed facts indicate that the use of force was justified under the law, the circumstances of the incident must ultimately be presented to a grand jury, composed of 23 civilians, for its independent review," the Attorney General's Office said in a statement.

Below is a series of online videos from the standoff area that were posted by a woman who was there. In one video, a police officer stands outside the front entrance while three other officers stand in the street. They are attempting to locate the person inside the building.

A retired sheriff from California told nj.com he was in a nearby Starbucks when police arrived. Local and state police, along with the FBI, now have the building surrounded.

"The police were operating with efficiency," Tom Morrison told the news outlet. "They were putting up the perimeter pretty fast."

Attached image via YouTube video