Princeton Panera gunman dead after hours-long standoff

UPDATE: Princeton Panera gunman had troubled financial past, spent time in psych ward

UPDATE: Police identify dead gunman at Princeton Panera

PRINCETON - A gunman is dead, killed by police after an hours-long standoff Tuesday inside a Panera on Nassau Street, across the street from the Princeton University campus.

In the afternoon, there was a burst of activity at the Panera. Police were seen entering the restaurant and a white stretcher was carried in, then out without a body on it. Emergency vehicles drove off with lights and sirens.

The Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team is conducting an investigation into the circumstances of the shooting. The Attorney General's Office confirmed that police fatally shot a man who entered a restaurant with a gun, leading to the lengthy standoff.

According to the preliminary investigation, the incident began shortly after 10 a.m. when the armed man entered Panera Bread on Nassau Street, across from the Princeton University campus, according to a news release from the Attorney General's Office.

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"Customers and employees were able to flee the building, and police secured the perimeter of the restaurant," the release said. "The standoff between police and the armed man in the restaurant continued for several hours, during which negotiators attempted unsuccessfully to get the suspect to surrender peacefully."

The standoff ended shortly before 3 p.m. when the suspect was fatally shot by police, according to the release. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The identity of the armed man is being withheld pending notification of family members. No further details of the shooting were released.

Authorities earlier had been negotiating with the armed man, according to the university.

Princeton police cars and a Princeton Public Works garbage truck blocked off the roadway.

Pedestrians were kept about 200 feet away from the Panera on Nassau Street between Washington and Witherspoon.

Mercer County SWAT team and the West Windsor Police Department were on the scene.

Students at Princeton University were on spring break. The school issued a shelter-in-place order by phone but withdrew it minutes later. The two campus buildings closest to the restaurant — Henry House and Scheide Caldwell House — were evacuated.

University officials said they don’t know whether the gunman had any relationship to the school.

About 20 employees were seated at tables in the neighboring Italian market and declined to speak to a reporter about what they witnessed.

A police officer near the scene who declined to give his name said the gunman appeared to be suicidal and did not open fire on employees or restaurant patrons.

When reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, an employee at PJ’s Pancake House, located a few doors from Panera, said customers were evacuated earlier in the day but that employees were still indoors.

She wasn’t sure the details of the situation but said that there was “obviously something going on.”

The closure of Nassau Street caused unexpected problems as one passerby tried to contact his Uber driver because he would not be able to meet him at their designated location.

For some time, Princeton United Methodist Church allowed members of the public in to warm up over a bowl of free soup, but later was put on lockdown too.

A woman walking on Nassau Street near the church stopped to ask what was going on and when told it was an armed man inside Panera, she simply said: “I’ll say a prayer.”

The church, which is on the corner next to the Panera, was offering free tortilla soup as part of its Lenten luncheon program.

But the Rev. Trey Wence decided to invite in “rubberneckers” for some hot soup and fellowship.

“The theme of our Lenten celebration is Help a Neighbor, and this seemed to fit,” Wence said.

Staff Writer Nick Muscavage: 908-243-6615; ngmuscavage@gannnettnj.com