Hostage Standoff - Walt Whitman Bridge - Gloucester City, NJ
N 39° 54.229 W 075° 07.303
18S E 489595 N 4417089
I was coming home from work when suddenly all traffic on the bridge stopped. I was about mid-span. I knew something was wrong when helicopters swarmed the area. A standoff with an armed man eventually ended and I finally made it home.
Waymark Code: WM3TVJ
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 05/17/2008
Views: 45
After awhile, KYW 1060 informed us via radio a man in a white Cadillac Escalade had taken a hostage and had a gun and a bat. It turned out the gun was fake. I actually thought to myself this would make a great waymark so I started taking notes. Here is my actual notes:
Stuck on the Walt Whitman Bridge
N 39° 54.342 W 075° 07.936 – This is where I was stuck. I began moving at 8:10 PM
N 39° 54.237 W 075° 07.369 – This is where the hostage stand-off took place. This would be the listed coordinates. I stopped at 4:20 and the stand-off ended at 7:45 PM according to KYW News Radio 1060. This was labeled as HOSTAGE. (<-- this was a reference to myself regarding my GPSr)
I was finally off the bridge at 8:31
N 39° 54.229 W 075° 07.303 – These are the coordinates I took when I passed by the truck still sitting on the road with its hazard lights on. This was labeled as SITE (<-- this was a reference to myself regarding my GPSr)
I walked about .42 miles to the crime scene. There were police who held the line forcing people back to a safe perimeter. I was able to see a sniper across the road form the SUV, perched behind a concrete barricade with a bead on the suspect. On the way, about .25 miles away I saw a Homeland Security vehicle heavily armored with large men milling about with rifles.
This was HUGE news for us local residents. It was just my unfortunate luck to have left work late otherwise I would have made it home on time. The worst thing about this news story? Having to use the bathroom and not being able!