On Monday, March 10, a 54-year-old man in New Jersey, John Adamo, shot his neighbors following a heated argument and confrontation. While they both survived, Adamo would then enter his own home and turn the gun on himself, committing suicide. Now, the distributing and heartbreaking call from Jill Kwatkoski, whom Adamo shot, reveals the moments following the violent incident.
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After a years-long confrontation between Adamo and the Kwatkoskis, on Monday afternoon, Adamo shot Tom Kwatkoski while he stood outside his home in Bayville. Moments later, Adamo shot at the house, striking Jill too. After getting shot, Jill called 911 and begged for help.
"My husband, I think he's dead outside and my leg is killing me," Jill told the 911 dispatcher, according to NBC 4. "I'm in the left leg — my husband I think — at least 3 rounds. Oh my God. There's blood everywhere," When prompted about the weapon used by Adamo, she responded, "It looks like a f-----g rifle. It looked like a rifle. Please hurry."
At one point, not knowing whether her husband was alive or not or if she would survive her own gunshot wound, Jill Kwatkoski asked the dispatcher for a heartbreaking favor. "Please get the cops here, I'm bleeding to death. I can't leave my kids," Jill said. "If I do, please tell them that I love them."
Confrontation And Recovery
Fortunately, both Tom and Jill managed to survive the shooting. They were airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center and remain in critical but stable condition, as per the New York Post. John Adamo, on the other hand, engaged in a two-and-a-half-hour shootout with authorities, barricading himself. A SWAT team eventually arrived and tore down Adamo's front door.
A neighbor remembers the exact moment in which the SWAT team breached into Adamo's house.
"It was just before it was getting dark and they got to get it done before it gets too dark," the neighbor said, as per The Post. "And then bam! They blew the door off John's house and it shook my whole house."
Upon entering the Adamo residence, they discovered John Adamo with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his upstairs bedroom. Adamo took his own life.
What led to the confrontation and shooting was just the straw that broke the camel's back on what neighbors describe as a strained relationship "going on for years." Reportedly, the Kwatkoskis installed a camera that pointed toward Adamo's house. Tom put up "No Trespassing" signs with both John Adamo's and his wife's names followed by three exclamation points.
According to a neighbor, this enraged Adamo, which led him to engage in a heated argument with Tom. Adamo then tore off one of the cameras and, when Tom turned, Adamo shot him in the back.
