Cumberland County man identified in fatal police-involved shooting

Authorities release identify of a man killed in police-involved shooting in Cumberland County.

Published Oct. 19, 2018, 4:51 p.m. ET

Authorities have identified a Cumberland County, N.J., man who was killed in a police-involved shooting Thursday in a parking lot in Vineland.

Jacob Servais, 19, of Millville, was shot around 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the lot of Just Four Wheels Car, Truck & Van Rental on South Delsea Drive, the state Attorney General's Office said. The shooting occurred when detectives from the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office and Lower Township police "encountered" Servais, authorities said in a statement.

Servais was shot by one of the detectives, the statement said. The detectives were conducting a law enforcement operation at the scene in Cumberland County, according to the statement.

Servais was transported by ambulance to Inspira Medical Center in Vineland, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. None of the detectives was injured.

Few details surrounding the shooting or the nature of the law enforcement activity in the area were released. Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, declined to comment Friday and said no additional information would be released.

The Cape May County Prosecutor's Office and Lower Township police did not respond to inquiries seeking comment. The names of the officers, how many were involved in the shooting, or their statuses were not released.

The shooting is under investigation by the Attorney General's Shooting Response Team to determine if the use of deadly force was justified. Under state guidelines, the case may be presented to a grand jury for review.

This is the second fatal police-involved shooting in Vineland in three months.

In July, Rashaun Washington, 37, was shot and killed by Vineland police after a stand-off outside his home. Washington told officers that he was holding an explosive device wrapped in a shirt, according to body camera footage.

An attorney for Washington's family questioned the police account and called Washington's death a "senseless killing." The Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office is investigating and will issue a report that will be reviewed by the Attorney General's Office.