Prosecutor: Off-duty cop shoots man found in his vehicle

A South Jersey man is in critical condition today after authorities say he apparently tried to steal a sport utility vehicle that belonged to an off-duty police officer.

Officer Basil Warren, an eight-year veteran of the Delanco Police Department, had finished his shift at 3 a.m. when he traveled to inspect a property he had recently bought in Edgewater Park. Still in uniform, he was driving his personal vehicle and parked it on the 200 block of Stevenson Avenue and went into the house, said a spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor.

As Warren returned to his vehicle, he spotted a man sitting in the driver's seat.

"It is believed that Officer Warren ordered the suspect to exit the vehicle," said spokesman Joel Bewley in a statement. "While the investigation is unclear at this point as to what occurred next, it is known that Officer Warren discharged his department-issued .40-caliber firearm multiple times, striking the suspect."

Arriving officers found Warren administering first aid to the suspect, who was later identified as Tysean Fitzpatrick, 26, of Willingboro.

Fitzpatrick was taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden to be treated for his gunshot wounds. No charges have been filed against him.