Child services employee shoots and kills herself inside Paramus office

Show Caption Hide Caption What to do if you or a loved one is at risk of suicide What to do if you or a loved one is at risk of suicide. Source: National Institute of Mental Health.

UPDATE: The woman who shot and killed herself has been identified. Read the full story here.

PARAMUS — A Division of Child Protection and Permanency employee shot and killed herself inside the state office Monday morning, police said.

The unidentified 57-year-old woman was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, said Paramus Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg.

“This morning, our Bergen Central Office in Paramus experienced the tragic loss of a dedicated colleague," Christine Norbut Beyer, the state Department of Children and Families commissioner, said in a statement. "Law enforcement and agency leadership are on the scene supporting employees who are dealing with this crisis."

The employee shot herself with a handgun inside her office, Ehrenberg said.

No one else was injured.

Calls to the Paramus Division of Child Protection and Permanency office were transferred to other offices from the department in the region, Beyer said.

In the parking lot, at the base of the Frisch Court building, the mood was somber, with employees still in shock.

Co-workers of the victim embraced, muffling each other’s cries and offering support.

Hetty Rosenstein, state director for the Communications Workers of America, the union that represented the woman, said she did not know the victim personally but that the CWA will "help to provide comfort and services to our members and the family."

"Like all of our incredible Department of Child Services workers, she devoted her career to protecting abused and neglected children," Rosenstein said. "Now her pain is over, and there is a very special place in heaven for people like her."

The sudden event seemed to shake the workers, who all left the building at about 12:30 p.m.

In the waiting room of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, investigators streamed in and out of the offices.

One worker who was outside holding back tears declined to comment.

“It’s too painful,” she said.

Staff Writer Keldy Ortiz contributed to this article.

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