UPDATED: Ridgewood Man Shot Dead By Police After Standoff in Washington Township

A Ridgewood man was shot to death by police early Saturday, ending a tense standoff during which the man fired on officers, authorities said.

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said Robert Ellis, 48, was at his parents' home on Jackson Avenue in Washington Township and fired toward two township officers shortly after they arrived about 1:30 a.m. One of the shots struck a patrol vehicle.

During the next 15 to 30 minutes, police from Westwood and Hillsdale arrived and Ellis fired several more shots from inside and outside the home toward police, Molinelli said.

When Ellis moved in front of the home, officers fired on him and he was shot several times, Molinelli said. He was pronounced at the scene about 2 a.m.

Molinelli did not say what prompted the incident and did not say where Ellis' parents were during the shooting. None of the officers were injured, he said.

Neighbors on Jackson Avenue said they heard a loud argument before the incident but seeing no activity, went back to bed.

“Then we heard at least a dozen shots. It was enough to wake us up,” said one neighbor, who wished not to be identified. The neighbors said they heard “numerous” rifle shots about 1:30 a.m., which prompted them to call 911. “A dispatcher returned a call telling us to stay inside and lock the doors,” a neighbor said.

Shortly after the standoff, police cordoned off a stretch of Jackson Avenue,
and investigators from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office were on the scene. Neighbors reported seeing “at least 20 police cars” at the scene, with officers marking shell casings that dotted the street.

Glass from the window of one police car parked in front of the home lay shattered on the blacktop.

Ellis had been living with his parents in Washington Township after his Ridgewood residence on Laurel Road–owned by his parents–caught fire in December, rendering the house uninhabitable.

“He was a really nice guy when coherent," a Laurel Road neighbor said Saturday. "It’s really sad. I didn’t expect to hear this.”