Armed man wounded after holding women hostage

LOGAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — An armed man suffered gunshot wounds after entering a UPS processing facility Monday morning, taking two women hostage and barricading himself in a room with them for 3½ hours until police moved in.

The women escaped without serious injuries, while the gunman’s condition remained unknown after the standoff in Logan Township, about 20 miles south of Philadel- phia, Gloucester County Prosecutor Charles Fiore said.

The gunman wasn’t identified. Officials believe he had a relationship with one of the hostages, according to Fiore.

“I heard one of my fellow employees say, ‘Run; he’s got a gun,’ then I heard the little pop of the gun, I guess, and we all ran and law enforcement took over,” employee Allen Anthony Dowling said.

The man entered the building shortly before 9:30 a.m. and fired shots. Police evacuated the building and blocked access to the busy industrial park, and nearby schools were put on a modified lockdown.

Hostage negotiators talked to the man by phone.

Shortly before noon, a short burst of gunfire was heard at the scene. Fiore later said he didn’t know how many shots police fired or whether the gunman fired any shots.

Television news footage showed officers crouched behind a vehicle behind the building’s loading dock.