UPDATE: Suspect who fired at police officer, touching off N.J. manhunt, is in custody, official says

The man who authorities say fired at a Tuckerton police officer Thursday morning during a traffic stop apparently got into an Uber, successfully fled Ocean County and headed toward Union County, police said.

Union Township Police Director Daniel Zieser said the U.S. Marshals Service notified his department that the man was possibly headed towards a train station in town. Police in Union got the heads up around 3 p.m., Zieser said.

“Apparently he was through (the station) already by the time we got notified,” Zieser told NJ Advance Media.

Ocean County authorities alerted residents at 3:45 p.m. that the person sought was out of the area and no longer a threat to local residents.

The Union train station is located adjacent to Kean University. Police from the township, Kean and NJ Transit responded, the township police director said.

Zieser said authorities are possibly expanding the search to New York City and Connecticut.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer declined to comment on the search effort in Union.

The man has not been publicly identified by authorities.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said a Tuckerton officer stopped a vehicle the man was driving at the intersection of Route 9 and North Green Street around 10:20 a.m. and the two exchanged gunfire. The man then ran from the scene.

The police officer was not hurt.

Police investigate the scene of a police-involved shooting near Railroad Avenue and North Green Street in Tuckerton on Nov. 21, 2019.Noah K. Murray | for NJ Advance Media

Schools in Tuckerton and Little Egg Harbor were locked down after the shooting. Authorities had said the suspect is considered to be armed and dangerous.

Little Egg Harbor police earlier released surveillance images of the man riding a blue adult tricycle and wearing a blue jacket.

In Tuckerton, neighbors described seeing a swarm of law enforcement officers after hearing gunfire Thursday morning.

Brian Overton, who lives in a house on this street near the incident, said he was in his car about to go to a cardiac therapy appointment when he heard a car accident on North Green Street.

Overton said he got out of his car to walk over and see if anyone was hurt, and then saw a police officer telling the person in the car to put his hands on the car three times. He said he hid behind a car and heard multiple gun shots before an officer said the driver had fled the scene.

Andrea Downs, who also lives in the area, seemed unfazed by the police presence as she let her bulldog, Madison, out in the afternoon. Police and sheriffs officers were moving away from the scene as word spread that the man had left the area later Thursday afternoon. A sheriff’s office mobile command center was still set up as of 4 p.m. and police K-9 units with scent-tracking hounds were present.

Police investigate the scene of a police-involved shooting near Railroad Avenue and North Green Street in Tuckerton on Nov. 21, 2019.Noah K. Murray | for NJ Advance Media

Reporters Avalon Zoppo and Joe Brandt contributed to this report.

Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @BeccaPanico.