HAMILTON - An off-duty corrections officer fatally shot a man as he walked up to the officer's front door early Saturday morning, according to a statement from the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.

The victim, Dominic Neal, was found lying next to the front steps of the officer's Vicky Court house around 4 a.m. Saturday, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later, officials said.

The officer's girlfriend, who was home at the time, had a domestic violence restraining order against Neal, the statement said.

The corrections officer was identified by police sources and property records as Niam Camp, a senior corrections officer with the Department of Corrections. He told police he was leaving his house to have a cigarette on his front porch when he saw Neal walking up the path to his home. Neal had a black hood up and his head down, the statement said.

Neal walked up the steps to the officer's front door and reached one hand out for the door handle, keeping the other on his waistband, Camp told police. The officer yelled at the man to stop but he didn't listen, prompting Camp to pull out his gun and fire three or four shots through the glass of his front door, the statement said.

Neal's car was found in the area of Buchanan Avenue and McClellan Avenue a short time later, it said.

No charges have been filed, but the investigation is continuing, officials said.

Neighbors said they were on edge after the gunfire prompted a large police presence in the normally quiet neighborhood.

A neighbor said she was awakened before 4 a.m. by the sound of two gunshots coming from the house, which is on a small cul-de-sac in Hamilton. The neighbor, Brandine Allen, said she looked outside her windows and, after she didn't see anything, decided to stay inside. A short time later, police swarmed the area and cordoned off the street with police tape, she said.

"Cops were walking kids out of the cul-de-sac," Allen said.

Another neighbor, Cindy Vanhise, said she didn't hear any shots Saturday morning but that, when she went to walk her dogs around 6 a.m., she was met by a heavy police presence in the small neighborhood.

The front door of the home appeared broken out Saturday morning.

Vanhise said the corrections officer lived in the house with his children. He is divorced and stays quiet most of the time, she said.

"He keeps to himself," Vanhise said.

This story has been updated to include the corrections officer's name.

Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman.