Relatives of New Brunswick shooting victim allege he was running away when he was shot

By Tom Haydon/The Star-Ledger

NEW BRUNSWICK, [NJ] — Relatives of a New Brunswick man shot and killed by city police about midnight Wednesday night say he was running away from officers when he was fatally wounded.

Barry "Gene" Deloatch, 47, was shot twice in the side moments after he was approached by police on Throop Avenue near Handy Street, relatives said.

New Brunswick police declined to comment, referring all questions to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. The prosecutor's office could not immediately be reached for comment this morning.

"I can't believe it. My brother should be here with us," said Barry Deloatch's older brother, Nate Deloatch, 52, of New Brunswick as he stood near the scene of the shooting on Throop Avenue.

Barry Deloatch was the third of four brothers. All of them were born in North Carolina and moved here with their parents as children.

Members of the Deloatch family received a telephone call about the shooting shortly after midnight.

Barry Deloatch's sister-in-law, Barbara Deloatch said her family received a call from another brother about 12:32 a.m. who said Barry had been shot.

She then spent harried minutes seeking information, first calling New Brunswick police, who confirmed there was a shooting but would not give her the name of the victim.

Barbara Deloatch then called Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, asked about Barry, and was told somebody would call her back. At that point Barbara and her husband, Tommie Deloatch, Barry's younger brother, went to the hospital and learned Barry Deloatch had died.

"The hospital told us he had been shot twice in the side," Barbara Deloatch said.

She and her husband then went to the scene.

During the night, Barbara Deloatch said, a witness to the shooting reached out to the Deloatch family, saying that Barry was fleeing when he was shot.

The witness, who Barbara Deloatch did not identify, said police had approached Barry Deloatch on Throop Avenue, and he ran around the corner with officers chasing him.

Then the witness heard two shots, she said.

"This is just a senseless shooting," Barbara Deloatch. "He was a really good guy, not a trouble maker," she said. She said her brother-in-law might have had a drug problem, but didn't deserve to be shot.

Barry Deloatch had two grown sons, both named Barry, relatives said. He was planning to marry his long-time girlfriend in January.

Nate Deloatch said his brother had graduated from New Brunswick High School and later worked there as security officer and on the maintenance staff. Barry Deloatch had also worked at a box factory in New Brunswick until it closed, family and friends said.