Burglary suspect found dead of self-inflicted gunshot

The suspect in a mobile home burglary in West Deptford was found dead early Tuesday, nearly 12 hours after SWAT units were called to a townhouse where police said he was hiding in the basement.

That's where William Z. Schickel, 24, of West Deptford, shot himself, police said. Schickel used a gun he had stolen about two weeks ago from the White Swan Mobile Home Park, where he lived, West Deptford Deputy Police Chief Sean McKenna said.

Detectives, looking for Schickel, were on the first floor of the home on the 1100 block of Buckingham Drive, talking to the owner's son around 2 p.m. Monday when they heard a gunshot from the basement. They and the residents evacuated the house and waited for SWAT, McKenna said.

Authorities believed that even after the gunshot Schickel was alive. They found his body around 1 a.m. Tuesday. No residents of the townhouse were charged, though they knew Schickel was hiding there, McKenna said. Schickel was also charged with burglary in his mobile home park in March 2012, when, police said, he stole jewelry.

- Michael Boren