Standoff In Point Pleasant Beach Prompts School Lockdown

A man who climbed to the roof of a hardware store in Point Pleasant Beach turned the gun on himself but survived after causing a tense morning.

Police say they were looking for Robert F. Terry III, 33, of Port Monmouth in connection with a domestic violence incident in Brick early Wednesday morning.

Terry, described as a "suicidal armed male" in a statement by Point Pleasant Police, took a taxi to the Point Pleasant Beach train station but was spotted by police before he got there around 8:40 a.m. He fled the taxi on foot and made his way to the roof of Bain Hardware on Arnold Avenue.

The Brick SWAT team made their way to the roof and Terry shot himself in the head with a .25 caliber hand gun. He was taken via medical helicopter to Jersey Shore University Medical Center where he is in critical condition.

Schools in Point Pleasant Beach and Point Pleasant High School were placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure around 9:45 a.m. but "students were not in any eminent danger according to police.

The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office in an earlier  statement denied there was a robbery attempt involving Terry.

Witnesses say Terry fired shots before turning the gun on himself.

Tom Mongelli, Dianne DeOliveira, Jason Allentoff  and Matthew White contributed to this report