An armed person was shot by police outside a CVS Pharmacy in Gloucester Township, Camden County, on Friday evening, November 6, according to a spokesperson for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, whose account was carried by CBS Philadelphia, 6abc Action News and NBC10 Philadelphia.
Source: CBS Philadelphia via Camden County Prosecutor's Office
The shooting happened on the 700 block of College Drive at about 4:45 p.m., the prosecutor's office said. The person was struck by gunfire during an encounter involving two officers from the Gloucester Township Police Department and was taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden for treatment.
6abc reported that authorities described the injuries as non-fatal, but officials did not release any further detail about the person's condition on Friday night. County dispatch calls sent medics to 701 College Drive for a gunshot victim, and the scene was reported secure as the response unfolded.
No police officers were injured. A CVS spokesperson told NBC10 that nobody inside the store was hurt, including shoppers, patients and staff, and that the company was working with investigators.
A busy Friday-evening scene
The store and its pharmacy were shut during the police response, and CVS advised patients with urgent prescription needs to use other CVS stores in the area, NBC10 reported — a practical disruption for residents picking up medicine on a Friday evening.
One witness told 6abc she had pulled into a Dunkin' nearby, planning to get a coffee ahead of her children's school pickup, when she heard what sounded like one or two shots and saw people hurrying away from the area.
Crime scene tape surrounded the property. CBS Philadelphia counted at least a dozen patrol vehicles around the building and said the township had deployed its mobile command centre, while shoppers were seen talking with officers by the front doors of the store.
Nearby resident Justin Fortini, who did not witness the shooting, told CBS Philadelphia the scale of the response was unsettling: “You want to make sure it's safe, and it's just scary and nerve-racking.”
Officials have not released the name of the person who was shot, have not said what brought officers into contact with the armed person, and have not announced any charges. Accounts also differ slightly on the exact spot — CBS Philadelphia said the shooting was near the store, while NBC10 said it was outside it.
The investigation
The Camden County Prosecutor's Office is investigating the shooting. 6abc reported that the prosecutor's office declined to share more information on Friday, saying it did not want to compromise its inquiry, which remains open.
Cooper University Hospital, where the wounded person was taken, is in Camden and describes itself as the only Level 1 trauma centre in South Jersey and the busiest in the region — the hospital that receives the area's most serious injuries. Gloucester Township is one of Camden County's largest communities, in the New Jersey suburbs across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, and College Drive is a local commercial corridor serving surrounding neighbourhoods.
What happens next
The prosecutor's investigation continues, and the next facts expected are the identity of the person who was shot, an official account of what led to the encounter, the person's updated condition, and any decision on charges. Until the prosecutor's office speaks, the central questions — why officers confronted the armed person at a busy pharmacy at the start of the Friday-evening rush, and what happened in the moments before the shots — remain unanswered.