3 days ago
Police bodycam footage shows deadly Woodbridge hotel shooting
WOODBRIDGE – Police stood on both sides of the elevator doors in the lobby of the Royal Albert Palace Hotel last summer when the doors opened and a man walked out holding a black backpack in his right hand and several other bags in his left.
Upon spotting the officers, the man dropped the bags in his left hand and backed up while reaching into the backpack to pull out a weapon before a rapid exchange of gunfire with police is heard and the man appears to fall to the ground with more gunfire heard.
An injured officer says "it's down" and then announces "I'm hit," and it appears another person also says "I'm hit," according to police bodycam videos released this week by the state Attorney General's Office of the shooting death of Karl Gregory, 46, of New York, during a June 13, 2024 encounter with Woodbridge and New York police.
Gregory's family was given an opportunity to review the recordings before they were released to the public. The fatal police encounter remains under investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.
In the video an officer indicates the area is clear, while other officers question the location of Gregory's gun. In another video an officer indicates he threw the weapon further down in the hallway.
As an injured officer is helped away from the shooting scene, another officer is heard saying to him, "you win this fight, let's go."
On June 12, 2024, Edison police received information from an automated license plate reader that a vehicle sought in connection with a shooting in New York City, which left the victim with life-threatening injuries, was in the area.
That evening, officers from the Edison and Woodbridge police departments responded to the hotel on King Georges Post Road in the Fords section of Woodbridge, where they located the unoccupied vehicle in the hotel parking lot.
The New York City Police Department also was notified and NYPD detectives responded to the scene and briefed Woodbridge police on the criminal investigation.
Around 12:21 a.m. the next day as police were at the hotel investigating, the hotel's elevator doors opened, and Gregory exited toward the lobby holding several bags.
As Gregory spotted the officers, he dropped his bags and reached into the backpack before there was a gunfire exchange between Gregory and Woodbridge Officers Drew Krupinski and Justin Nerney and NYPD Detective Matthew Mauro.
Gregory, Nerney and Mauro were all struck during the gunfire exchange. Woodbridge police rendered medical aid to Gregory before EMS personnel arrived, but he was later pronounced dead at the scene. Police recovered a handgun found near Gregory.
Nerney, who joined the Woodbridge Police Department in 2016, and Mauro were hospitalized for several days before being released.
In May Nerney and Krupinski received valor awards from the 200 Club of Middlesex County for their actions during the incident.
State law requires that the death of any civilian in a police encounter be investigated by the Attorney General's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. That investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.
Email: srussell@
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today
This article originally appeared on Woodbridge NJ hotel shooting shown in police bodycam footage
