Fundraiser Created for Warren Standoff Victim's Son

A GoFundMe page has been created to help pay for the college tuition of Heidi Errickson’s son, Gabriel Vallie, a junior at West Virginia University.

Errickson and her brother were shot and killed by her fiance at their Warren home on Sunday - an incident which led to an hours long standoff with police.

Vallie’s father was killed in a car accident in 1995, the same accident in which Errickson lost her arm and unborn child, according to nj.com. After the accident Errickson raised Vallie as a single mother.

Errickson was a part-time, multi- duty paraprofessional at Warren’s Central School.

“This senseless killing has left us all shaken,” said Dr. Elizabeth Nastus, Interim Superintendent in a statement from the Warren School District. “Ms. Errickson was a valued member of our school community. Our hearts go out to her family at this extremely difficult time.”

My Central Jersey reports a joint funeral will be held for Errickson and her older brother William Errickson at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Higgins Home for Funerals in Watchung.

A cremation ceremony will be held after the funeral at Somerset Hills Memorial Park in Basking Ridge.

In lieu of flowers her family has asked that donations be made to her son’s scholarship fund.

The Incident

Authorities on Monday identified the 48-year-old man who shot himself after killing two others in New Jersey on Sunday, and provided details on the deadly standoff with police.

Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano identified the suspect in the doubl- homicide as John Reno, age 48, of 232 Mt. Horeb Road, Warren Township.

According to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office:

At 1:21 p.m., police officers from the Warren Township Police Department were dispatched to 232 Mt. Horeb Road for a welfare check of John Reno as a result of a request by a family member.

At 1:23 p.m., as two responding officers approached the residence, they observed a male victim lying in the driveway unresponsive and fatally injured. Upon exiting their respective vehicles, Reno fired an assault rifle at them from a first floor window of the dwelling.

While taking fire, the officers radioed for backup and requested the deployment of the Somerset County Special Weapon and Tactics Team, or SWAT. Neither officer returned fire.

The victim was subsequently identified as Frederick Errickson, Jr. age 55, of Pershing Avenue, Middlesex.

Additional police backups from Warren Township and neighboring towns as well as SWAT responded to the scene. At that time, it was believed that Reno was in the residence and presented a danger to all responding personnel.

Due to the type of weapon and caliber of ammunition utilized by Reno, SWAT members set up a large perimeter around the dwelling. After numerous attempts by the Somerset County Crisis Negotiations Team to communicate with Reno failed, SWAT utilized a remote-controlled robot to search the exterior and interior areas of the residence.

Once inside, cameras attached to the robot captured the image of an unresponsive fatally injured female victim lying in a first floor hallway. The victim was later identified as Reno’s fiancé Heidi Errickson, age 45, also a resident of the dwelling.

The SWAT team subsequently made entry into the residence, and, once it was ascertained that Reno was no longer inside of same, SWAT members collapsed the perimeter.

In the process of doing so, Reno was discovered lying in a drainage ditch in a dense wooded area to the rear of the dwelling with a self-inflicted fatal gunshot wound to the head. Lying next to his body officers located the assault rifle with two high capacity magazines.

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit as well as the Major Crime Unit responded to the scene once it was rendered secure by the SWAT team.

The investigation has revealed that after having an argument with Heidi Errickson, John Reno shot and killed her. Heidi Errickson’s brother, Frederick Errickson, Jr, went to the residence in an apparent effort to check on his sister’s welfare. Upon Frederick Errickson’s arrival, he was shot and killed by Reno in the driveway leading up to the residence, according to the prosecutor.

The investigation has also revealed that the last gun shot—possibly associated with Reno’s suicide—was heard at 1:33 p.m.

Authorities believe that Reno may have had a history of mental health issues, and efforts to confirm same are underway.

None of the first responding officers who took Reno’s fire were physically hit or injured. However, they were transported to a local hospital for stress related symptoms and continue to receive appropriate treatment, according to the prosecutor.

This matter remains an active and ongoing investigation.