Galloway Cops Arrest Man Who Tried To Set Fire To Police Dept.

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, NJ - Galloway police recently arrested a township man who tried to set fire to the police department back in December, Detective Sgt. Kevin Welsh said.

Sean D. Shearer was charged with aggravated arson and criminal mischief after an investigation by police and special agents from the ATF, he said.

His arrest stems from a Dec. 12 incident when a white male approached the front lobby, produced a glass bottle containing a petroleum-based accelerant, tried to light it then threw it on the concrete in front of the entrance doors, Welsh said.

The bottle shattered and accelerant was splashed over the doors, floor mats and the lobby entrance, he said.

"Although the contents of the bottle did not ignite there was an officer and a citizen in the lobby at the time," Welsh said. "If the accelerant had ignited, the officer and citizen would have been put in life-threatening danger."

The suspect then ran toward the area of Jimmie Leeds Road, but could not be located at the time of the incident.

Shearer was interviewed and later charged. He is lodged in the Atlantic County Justice Facility. Galloway Detective Bryan Casey was the investigating detective.

Photo: Courtesy of the Galloway Township Police Department