Pine Beach cop suspended during shooting probe

A Pine Beach police officer is suspended without pay while investigators learn why his friend caught a bullet from his gun early this morning in Lacey Township.

Authorities said that the gun in the possession of Officer Jesse Urban, 23, accidentally fired and left the victim, a Forked River 23-year-old, with a leg wound that required surgery at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.

The shooting is described as accidental. A gunshot rang out just before 6 AM in the parking lot of a 7-11 on Main Street, prompting a response by Lacey police, investigators said.

Urban was suspended by Pine Beach PD Chief Reece Fisher, according to information from Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato, while county investigators examine the incident with Lacey and Pine Beach police.

Urban was also charged with driving under the influence, based on evidence that alcohol played a role, authorities said.