Perth Amboy Police Officer Shot Multiple Times Recovering: Prosecutor

RAHWAY, NJ — The name of the Perth Amboy Police officer who was shot multiple times Wednesday night has still not been released, but the officer remains in stable condition at RWJ-Barnabas Hospital in New Brunswick with non-life-threatening injuries, said Union County Prosecutor William Daniel.

This was the Perth Amboy Police detective who was shot during an exchange of gunfire with a suspect at 8:42 p.m. Wednesday in Rahway.

Perth Amboy detectives were in Rahway attempting to execute an arrest warrant for Angel Santiago, 20 and a Rahway resident, who is a suspect in an aggravated assault that occurred in Perth Amboy a day earlier, Tuesday, July 23.

The shoot-out occurred on Broad Street in Rahway, very close to the Rahway train station.

As police approached the area, there was an exchange of gunfire between Perth Amboy detectives and Santiago. Reports say Santiago fired first at the officers.

The Perth Amboy detective was shot multiple times in the leg and Santiago was shot once in the lower leg, said the prosecutor.

Santiago was taken to University Hospital in Newark, where he was treated for his single gunshot wound and released; he is currently in custody of the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.

Multiple others were also arrested, but their names not released.

A handgun was also recovered from the scene. In the aftermath of the shooting, police found bullet holes in cars, in trees and on the ground on Broad Street near the Rahway train station.

Rahway residents who live in that area told News 12 that teens often sell drugs along Broad Street or get into fights there.

“We want them to put cameras up on the train wall to keep an eye out, maybe have a policeman stationed on this corner because that stretch of road is always a problem,” one woman told News 12.

Another woman said she and her family heard the gunshots Wednesday night, prompting all of them to lie down on the kitchen floor as the bullets flew outside.

The New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice directed Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens, II to take over the investigation due to a conflict of interest by the Union County prosecutor.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Professional Standards Bureau says it is in the early stages of the investigation and is not releasing any further information.

This is an active and ongoing investigation. Anyone with further information is urged to contact Union County Prosecutor’s Office Sergeant Dennis Donovan at (732)-232-2049 or Detective Christine Spady at (908) 403-1623