Bruce Gress, a 42-year-old man from Toms River, New Jersey, was killed during an early-morning encounter outside a Wawa convenience store on September 18, 2026. What appeared to have begun as an ordinary stop before work ended with Gress suffering a fatal gunshot wound while sitting behind the wheel of his pickup truck.
Gress had begun his morning by walking his dog before leaving home. He regularly stopped at the Wawa near Route 37 and Garfield Avenue before heading to construction jobs. Surveillance footage showed him arriving in his blue Ford F-250 at approximately 7:12 a.m. He parked at the gas pumps, went inside the store, and returned to his truck roughly five minutes later. At about the same time, another vehicle, described as a dark-colored Acura, was in the area. Its driver had arrived at the Wawa at approximately 6:58 a.m., entered the store to purchase coffee, and then returned to his vehicle.
As Gress began driving away from the gas pumps, the Acura pulled alongside his truck so that the drivers' sides of the two vehicles were close together. According to a witness interviewed by investigators, Gress got out of his pickup and stood between the vehicles while arguing with the Acura's driver, who remained inside his vehicle. During the confrontation, Gress dropped his cellphone, picked it up, and returned to his truck. Moments later, the witness heard a single popping sound and saw the Acura drive away. The witness then saw Gress' head drop as he slumped in the driver's seat. Wawa surveillance cameras recorded the confrontation, and although the shooting itself was not clearly visible, investigators reported seeing what appeared to be a muzzle flash shortly before 7:20 a.m.
Toms River Township police received a 911 call at approximately 7:19 a.m. Responding officers found Gress suffering from a gunshot wound to the head and began rendering aid. He was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he was pronounced dead at 8:51 a.m. A postmortem examination determined that the gunshot wound caused his death and classified the case as a homicide. Investigators have not publicly identified a motive or established whether Gress and the person accused of killing him knew each other before their encounter at the Wawa.
Detectives identified Douglas C. Cobb, 51, of Toms River, as the alleged shooter. Cobb is also known as Douglas Green and by the nickname "Bootknock." Investigators traced the bank card used to purchase coffee that morning to Cobb and compared the Wawa surveillance footage with his physical appearance. Detectives said the customer's muscular build, goatee and arm tattoos matched Cobb, including tattoos officers recognized from previous police contacts. Investigators also determined that a dark Acura registered to Cobb resembled the vehicle captured on surveillance footage at the Wawa. Additional cameras recorded an Acura at a QuickChek farther west on Route 37 at about 7:21 a.m., shortly after the shooting, and later traveling across Route 37 near Fischer Boulevard.
Police attempted to track a telephone number associated with Cobb after obtaining court authorization for real-time location information. Later that day, the phone repeatedly showed the same location along Route 9 in Howell, but investigators searching the area did not locate Cobb. Authorities subsequently searched his residence on McKinley Avenue in Toms River and canvassed the surrounding neighborhood for additional surveillance footage, but he was not found there either.
Cobb was charged with first-degree murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, and being a person prohibited from possessing a firearm. Prosecutors allege that he fired a single round that struck Gress in the head. The prohibited-person charge stems from a previous second-degree conviction for distributing a controlled dangerous substance, which authorities allege legally barred Cobb from possessing a firearm. An arrest warrant was issued, and authorities said Cobb was last known to be driving a black 2016 Acura MDX bearing New Jersey license plate T93YJL.
As of September 24, 2026, Cobb had not been apprehended and remained a fugitive sought by law enforcement. Nearly a week after the killing, investigators were still searching for him while a memorial had appeared outside the Wawa where Gress was shot. No trial or conviction has occurred, and the charges against Cobb remain allegations unless and until they are proven in court.
