NJ man shot wife in head during landlord dispute, cops say

🚨William Daniel called his landlord to pay back rent, according to an affidavit

🚨Daniel shot his wife in front of their son

🚨Allentown Borough was in shelter-in-place after the shooting

ALLENTOWN — A shooting that put a Monmouth County town on lockdown New Year's Eve stemmed from a landlord dispute.

Daniel Williams, 52, was responsible for shooting his wife in front of their son at their Johnson Drive home around 12:50 p.m., investigators said. She was treated for non-life-threatening injuries from a single gunshot. The age of the boy was redacted from the affidavit obtained by New Jersey 101.5.

After Williams left the house, Mayor Thomas Fritts issued a shelter-in-place around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, as officers from several law enforcement agencies began a search using helicopters, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago.

According to the affidavit, Williams and his wife owed their landlord four months of rent on the duplex they lived in with a child.

Williams texted the landlord, who also lives in the duplex, to meet him in the backyard to collect the back rent. When the landlord showed up Williams, pulled a gun from his waistband, pointed it at his wife and fired at her head, officials said. His hands were described in the affidavit as "shaky" because of a medical condition.

ALSO READ: Norovirus in NJ: What to know about the surging stomach bug

"Arguing over bills"

Williams and the landlord "wrestled" for about 10 minutes in front of the child, officials said. Willams' wife was hospitalized with a "complex wound to her head" that was not considered serious. The affidavit does not explain why Williams shot his wife.

On a GoFundMe campaign page Nicole Williams, who identified herself as Daniel Williams' wife, wrote that she saw the gun pointed at her and ducked resulting in her head only being grazed.  She said her husband intended to kill her.

"By the grace of God I saw him point the gun at me and registered what was happening quickly enough to duck and the bullet grazed the back of my head," Nicole Williams wrote. "Our neighbor who witnessed the shooting directly heroically wrestled Dan down and took the gun away before Dan took off."

Nicole Williams said she still has residual issues with her hearing and eye sight but it will eventually heal.

"There is no doubt in my heart that God’s shielding grace spared my life. We are so very blessed," Nicole Williams wrote.

Detectives interviewed the child, who said he witnessed his parents "arguing over bills."

Police later obtained a search warrant and found a Ruger LCP 380 handgun with four Hornady live rounds in it. A spent casing of the same type of bullet was found in a gravel porch area in the backyard.

Williams was arrested around 7 p.m. and questioned at Robbinsville police headquarters.

ALSO READ: Police: 18-year-old arrested for home invasion in Willingboro

Jill Myra contributed to this report

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom