An undercover officer was hit with a handgun by an Asbury Park teenager on Friday night, according to Paul Loriquet, spokesman for the state attorney general’s office.
The incident occurred around 6:35 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22, Loriquet said. The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force was conducting an undercover investigation in which an undercover detective would seek to purchase a handgun on the streets, Loriquet.
Four teenaged males approached the detective in a parking lot near an apartment complex in the area of Bangs and Ridge avenues, Loriquet said. While the detective negotiated with the teenagers to buy their gun, an argument ensued and the suspects attempted to rob the detective, he said.
One of the teenagers pulled out a handgun and swung it, striking the detective in the head, Loriquet said. The detective pulled out his weapon and “fired at least one shot,” Loriquet said. He did not strike the suspects, who then fled on foot.
The suspects were apprehended after a brief foot chase, Loriquet said. The detective had support from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the State Police Major Crimes Unit, the Neptune Police Department and the Asbury Park Police Department.
Of the four teenagers, three were juveniles. One was 16 years old, while the other two were 17 years old. One 18-year-old, Allen Taylor, was arrested. All were from Asbury Park.
All four were charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and unlawful sale of a handgun, Loriquet said.
The detective was taken to a nearby hospital due to his head trauma injury, Loriquet said. He was treated and subsequently released.
Taylor is being lodged at Monmouth County Correctional Institution, with his bail set at $372,000. The three juveniles were taken to a juvenile detention facility in Middlesex County, Loriquet said.
The case was referred to the attorney general’s office because an officer from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office was injured with a gun, Loriquet said. The investigation is ongoing.
