Officer-Involved Shooting in South Toms River Leaves One Injured, Investigation Underway
South Toms River, NJ — A person was injured in a police-involved shooting Tuesday night in South Toms River, prompting an active investigation by county authorities and limiting what officials can publicly release.
The shooting occurred around 9:49 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, who confirmed the incident was non-fatal. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit is leading the investigation alongside the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit. The insident happened near South Main Street and Dover Road (pictured in photo), according to the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department.
Early reports on social media claimed an officer was shot. This was later debunked.
Limited details as investigation begins
Officials have not released information about the circumstances leading up to the shooting, the identity of the individual involved, or the agency connected to the officer.
Under New Jersey Attorney General Directive No. 2006-5, authorities are restricted from sharing additional details while the investigation is ongoing. That directive governs how officer-involved shootings are handled statewide, including protocols for transparency and independent review.
State oversight expected
In New Jersey, officer-involved shootings typically undergo strict review processes that can involve oversight by the Attorney General’s Office to ensure compliance with use-of-force policies, however when a member of the public is involved in a shooting those details are often released through public press releases.
Billhimer stated that a more detailed public report will be released once the investigation is completed and approved by the Attorney General.
Was directive misapplied?
The AG directive cited by the Prosecutor’s office may have been misapplied in this case.
Nothing within the directive expressly prohibits law enforcement from giving the media basic details about a police-involved shooting. The directive is narrowly focused on investigative control, notification requirements, and prosecutorial oversight—not public communications policy.
The operative provisions concentrate on who must be notified, who conducts the investigation, and how those investigations are structured. For example, paragraphs 1 through 7 deal almost entirely with immediate notification to the Division of Criminal Justice and assignment of investigative authority (county prosecutor vs. the Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team). Those sections regulate internal procedure and chain-of-command, not external disclosures.
Often times, the Attorney General’s Office will issue a follow up statement, but that has not happened as of yet.
The only language touching on “public” communication appears in paragraph 11, and even there it is limited to prohibiting unauthorized grand jury “reports” and restricting disclosure of grand jury material without judicial approval. That is a specific evidentiary and procedural safeguard—it does not extend to routine factual briefings such as confirming an incident occurred, time/location, or status of an investigation.
What comes next
For now, investigators continue to process the scene and gather evidence related to the incident. No timeline has been provided for when additional details will be made public.
The condition of the injured individual has not been disclosed.
The case remains active.
