Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Mount Laurel Police Department Chief Stephen Riedener announced that a Burlington Township man has been charged with fatally shooting an employee and wounding a patient inside a township medical office this afternoon.
Police say Mr. Bruce Gomola Jr., 51, of Kingsbridge Drive, was charged with Murder (First Degree), two counts of Aggravated Assault (Second Degree), and Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose (Second Degree).
He will be scheduled for a first appearance in Superior Court, and the case will then be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment.
Gomola is employed as a corrections officer at the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly. He is being held in the Camden County Correctional Facility in Camden.
The incident occurred near the Mount Laurel Police Department, with officers responding to the Delaware Valley Urology office in the 15000 block of Midlantic Drive at 12:50 p.m. today after receiving reports of a shooting inside the building.
The investigation revealed that Gomola apparently became upset concerning an appointment for his father.
When Patient Services Representative Stephanie Horton attempted to discuss the situation with Gomola, he pulled a .40 caliber handgun and fired one shot into her chest. The bullet exited through her back and struck a female patient in the knee.
Gomola then left the building and drove away, but soon returned to the scene and surrendered without incident to a Mount Laurel detective.
Horton, 44, of Willingboro, was pronounced dead at 4:18 p.m. at Cooper University Hospital in Camden.
The other victim, a woman in her fifties, was treated at the same facility for non-life-threatening injuries.
The investigation is being conducted by the Mount Laurel Police Department and the Prosecutor’s Office.
All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.