In the quiet town of Mount Holly, New Jersey, a sequence of events unfolded that would forever alter the lives of several police officers and their families. It was on March 28, 1975, that Mount Holly Police Officer John O. Holmes, a male United States Army veteran, responded to a call about a man with a gun in the 200 block of Garden Street. Upon arrival, he and another officer approached the house from different sides, attempting to de-escalate the situation.
Without warning, the man
inside opened fire on the officers. A bullet struck Officer Holmes, inflicting a devastating injury that would sever his spine. Two other officers, Patrolman Donald Aleshire of the Mount Holly Police Department and Officer William Wurst of the Hainesport Police Department, were also shot and killed during the incident. Officer Holmes was rushed to Burlington County Memorial Hospital, where the gravity of his injuries became clear; he was paralyzed.
The gunman, a 23-year-old man, barricaded himself inside the home for more than three hours before he was finally apprehended. His mother would later state that her son believed he was back in Vietnam. In 1977, the suspect was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to a psychiatric institution. For seventeen years, Officer Holmes lived with the consequences of that fateful day, until he ultimately succumbed to his wounds in 1992. He was survived by his wife, three sons, a brother, three sisters, and a grandchild.
