Man arrested following shooting at Sussex County motel that injured 2 New Jersey state troopers

BRANCHVILLE, NJ (Sussex County) — A man was arrested after a shooting that injured two New Jersey state troopers at a Sussex County Motel, according to Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, New Jersey State Police Superintendent Patrick J. Callahan and Acting Sussex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray.

On Jan. 30, at around 6:00 p.m., New Jersey State Police responded to the Cobmin Ridge Motel on Route 206 in Branchville to conduct a welfare check, authorities said.

Troopers arrived at the motel and made contact with Nicolas R. Martinez, 27, who was staying in one of the rooms, authorities said.

Despite efforts to deescalate the situation, Martinez refused to leave the room and began to fire a weapon out of the room in the direction of the State Police TEAMS (Technical Emergency and Mission Specialist) unit, authorities said.

Then at around 4:00 a.m., after multiple hours of failed attempts to negotiate with Martinez, NJ State Police TEAMS breached the motel room, at which time he fired multiple rounds from an air rifle at officers, injuring two state troopers, authorities said.

Martinez was taken into custody and charged with two counts of attempted murder, terroristic threats, unlawful possession of an air rifle, and related weapons crimes, authorities said.

The Division of Criminal Justice, State Police Major Crimes Unit, and the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office are conducting an ongoing investigation.