LAKEWOOD -- Lakewood Police Officer Chris Matlosz was shot three times and killed during a routine stop of a pedestrian for questioning this afternoon, officials said tonight during a press conference.

Matlosz, 27, of Toms River, had stopped his patrol car in a residential neighborhood and had started to question a pedestrian when the man pulled out a handgun and opened fire shortly after 4 p.m., said Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch-Ford.

"Officer Matlosz was apparently shot three times at close range," Lynch-Ford said. "The officer was conducting a routine type of stop. The individual was a pedestrian. It was not hostile, just a question and answer type of thing. The individual stepped back and pulled out a weapon, a handgun, and then shot three times."

A manhunt is underway for the gunman, described as as black man in his late teens or early 20s, roughly 5-feet, 6-inches tall, with a stocky build. He was wearing a black hood over his head and wearing dark saggy jeans with gray boxer shorts exposed, Lynch-Ford said. A $40,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the gunman's arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call (732) 814-6983.



A man wanted in connection with the "execution-style" killing of a Lakewood police officer this afternoon has been identified as 19-year-old Jahmell Crockam.

At 9:45 p.m. a law enforcement helicopter was using a searchlight to sweep the area about a mile south of where the shooting took place.

“Chris was one of our most popular officers. He was very proactive," Lakewood Police Chief Robert Lawson said. "You might say he was the best of us.”

Lynch-Ford said the search for the gunman remains ongoing.

“We have someone who obviously has no soul," Lynch-Ford said. "Our goal is to identify the perpetrator of this particularly heinous execution-style murder and bring that person to justice. We do have several significant leads that we're following through on."

Matlosz, who was engaged to be married, joined the Lakewood police in August 2006. He was a graduate of Howell High School and Brookdale Community College, Lynch Ford said. He was hired as an Englishtown police officer in 2004, according to records, and was lauded for his role in a multi-agency drug raid at a Manalapan home in 2005.

"This is a terrible tragedy, and our hearts and prayers go out to Officer Matlosz's family, friends, fellow officers, and the entire New Jersey law enforcement community," Gov. Chris Christie said in a statement. "While the facts are still being gathered, we support the Lakewood Police and Ocean County Prosecutor's Office in their work to bring swift justice to whomever is responsible."

Employees at the Lakewood Municipal Complex, which also houses the police department, said Matlosz "was always joking around" with other officers when he came in for his shift around 9 p.m. each night.



"It was like a bunch of kids," said Barry Moon, a custodian who said Matlosz was a township native. "That's what made it so hard. I know some of these kids since grade school."



Francis Decausey, 63, said he knew "something when was wrong" when he arrived for work this afternoon and found dozens of off-duty and retired officers inside the building.



"It was sad," Decausey said, tearing up as he spoke. "Real sad."

Local clergy described the Golfview Townhouses development where the shooting occurred as a “gang area."

“I understand there have been some problems there. Recently there have been a lot of gang issues there,” said Glenn Wilson, pastor at Restoration Family Worship Center in Howell.

To shoot a man point-blank would take “someone who is totally deranged,” said Wilson.

By James Queally and Chris Megerian/The Star-Ledger

Staff writers Tomas Dinges, Tom Haydon and Eunice Lee contributed to this report

More coverage of the shooting:

• Man wanted in Lakewood Police Officer Chris Matlosz's slaying is identified

• Lakewood Police officer Chris Matlosz is killed in line of duty shooting

• Lakewood police officer is shot and killed by unknown gunman