Off-duty Newark cop fatally shoots estranged wife, injures her boyfriend in horrific late-night attack
An off-duty police lieutenant from New Jersey allegedly shot and killed his estranged wife and also seriously injured her boyfriend in a late-night attack on Sunday.
Newark Police Lt. John Formisano, 49, was arrested early morning on Monday in Livingston, not too long after the shooting in Jefferson Township.
The authorities revealed that Formisano, who is a 24-year veteran of the force, had opened fire on the couple while inside a home on Mirror Place.
Law enforcement officials have not yet released the name of Formisano's former wife or her boyfriend.
As per social media posts, Formisano had married a woman called Christie Solaro, 37, in 2010.
Solaro and Formisano have an eight-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son together. The children were home at the time of the shooting but were unharmed in the attack.
The woman's boyfriend was rushed to the hospital and is believed to be in a critical condition.
Police in Livingston pulled over Formisano's car at around 1.30am on Monday and took him into custody, as reported by the Daily Record,
Formisano was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant between December last year and now.
According to Newark Police sources, Formisano was suspended without pay after they became aware of the shooting.
Morris County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Peter DiGennaro revealed that the police had responded to the house at around 11:21 p.m. after reports of shots being fired there.
A residential part of Mirror Place remained closed for quite a while as the investigation went on.
As per public records, Formisano had bought a house there around a decade ago.
A resident who did not give his name said, "This is a sleepy town. Stuff like this doesn’t occur here."
