A SWAT team and a robotic dog converged on a Pennsauken, New Jersey, home on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, after a man shot and killed his sister outside the house. Officers who eventually made their way inside found him dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Calls reporting a shooting and a man armed with a handgun at the residence sent Pennsauken police to the 4400 block of Bethel Avenue at approximately 9:01 a.m., according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.
Arriving officers found Janet Camacho, 59, of Pennsauken, on the front steps with a gunshot wound. She was taken to Cooper University Hospital and pronounced dead there at approximately 9:38 a.m.
The gunman was her brother, Daniel Lopez, 60, also of Pennsauken, investigators said. Authorities determined the incident was a murder-suicide.
Police Deployed a Robotic Dog
With an armed man believed to be inside, officers set up a perimeter around the property and walked residents out of a neighboring home. The Camden County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team responded while police secured the scene.
Officers then sent in a robotic dog, which was seen going into the residence through the garage. They located Lopez inside at approximately 10:37 a.m., dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the prosecutor’s office. He was pronounced dead at 10:41 a.m.
All told, the barricade situation ran roughly 90 minutes. Authorities said by early afternoon that it had ended and that there was no threat to the public.
Residents described a prolonged police response. Todd Edwards, a nearby resident, said police vehicles passed for about 20 minutes as he continued hearing sirens. Others on the block reported seeing investigators in suits, SWAT officers and drones.
Doorbell Video Captured the Shooting
A doorbell camera owned by the family of neighbor Michelle Jimenez recorded what happened. Separately obtained surveillance footage captured gunshots and showed a man pacing outside the home afterward.
“I guess I was just processing it and when I saw the video all I could do was tear up,” Jimenez told FOX 29.
Her family had known Lopez and his mother for years, Jimenez said. He turned up regularly at family gatherings and baked for her and her siblings, she told 6ABC, describing him as kind and willing to offer advice. At first, she said, she did not believe the news.
Lopez had recently been unhappy about the impending sale of the family home, Jimenez told FOX 29. Public records showed the house was scheduled to be sold. Authorities had not announced a motive.
Neighbors Describe a Quiet Block
Residents and friends gathered nearby as investigators hauled bags of evidence out of the house. Neighbors called the block quiet and friendly, and said the police response left them unsettled.
“This is so rare. This doesn’t happen here,” Pennsauken resident Ozzie Marrero told 6ABC. Jabril Smitherman of The Barbers Lounge expressed sympathy for the families affected.
The prosecutor’s office, in its September 16 statement, described the investigation as active and ongoing. Anyone with information was asked to contact Detective Jake Siegfried at 856-225-5086 or Pennsauken Detective Thalia Aviles at 856-488-0080, according to the statement reproduced by All Around Pennsauken.
Anyone struggling or in crisis can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which is available around the clock. Crisis Text Line can also be reached by texting HOME to 741741.
