A man armed with a machete killed his mother and grandparents inside a Piscataway home Monday evening before charging at responding officers, who then fatally shot him, officials said. Police were called to the River Road address around 5:30 p.m. after a relative dialed 911 to report a person with a knife.
The case stunned a quiet Middlesex County neighborhood and launched parallel investigations by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. Officials said the incident appears to be isolated and that there is no ongoing threat to the public. The killings leave surviving family members to plan funerals for three victims as authorities piece together the sequence of events inside the house and examine how officers confronted the suspect at the doorway. Township leaders called it a horrific family tragedy that unfolded in minutes during the late afternoon.
Police said officers arrived to find the man armed with a large blade and attempted to subdue him with Tasers. When he advanced, at least one officer fired, striking and killing him outside the residence. After securing the scene, officers searched the home and found three people dead: the suspect’s mother and his maternal grandparents, according to local officials. The victims’ identities and ages were not immediately released pending notification by the medical examiner. Neighbors described hearing shouting and then sirens as patrol cars and ambulances converged on River Road near dusk. “We saw officers moving quickly to the door and then backing off,” said a resident who lives across the street.
Investigators spent the night collecting evidence, photographing rooms and recovering edged weapons from inside the home. Authorities said multiple knives were found at the scene. Detectives are reviewing 911 recordings, body-camera footage and any nearby surveillance video to reconstruct the timeline from the initial call to the moment officers fired. Piscataway Mayor Brian C. Wahler called the crime “unthinkable,” noting that a father is now preparing to bury his wife, parents and son, and said early briefings indicated officers followed protocol by first attempting less-lethal options.
River Road runs through a residential stretch not far from Rutgers facilities and commuter routes, where evening traffic was pushed onto side streets as police taped off the block. The single-family house sits back from the road with limited exterior lighting, complicating visibility as darkness fell. Residents said the family had lived there for years and kept to themselves. Several neighbors said they had already shared doorbell video with detectives that captured police vehicles arriving and officers taking positions but did not show what happened inside the home.
Under New Jersey law, the Attorney General’s Office routinely reviews deaths involving police use of force. Officials said that process is underway alongside a homicide investigation led by county prosecutors. Standard steps include interviews with the officers who discharged Tasers and firearms, forensic testing of weapons recovered, and autopsies to determine exact causes and times of death. Authorities did not announce the number of shots fired or the precise distance between the suspect and officers when the gunfire occurred. Results from autopsies are expected to clarify whether all injuries to the victims were caused by a machete or other blades recovered in the home.
By late Tuesday, a small cluster of flowers had been placed near the end of the driveway as police cruisers idled nearby. A neighbor who often walks past the house said the block was unusually quiet for a weekday evening. “It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “You never think something like this is happening behind a front door you pass every day.” Another resident said officers returned after dark to take measurements and collect additional items from the kitchen area. Township officials said community updates will follow when investigators release further details.
As of Tuesday night, authorities had not publicly confirmed the suspect’s name. The Attorney General’s Office and Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said they will provide updates after autopsy results and officer interviews are complete later this week.
Author note: Last updated January 6, 2026.