New Jersey Department of Corrections, New Jersey
End of Watch: Wednesday, May 10, 1911
Age: 64
Tour of Duty: 9 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: January 8, 1904
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Shot and killed
Centre Keeper John Fitzgerald succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained seven years earlier when he was shot by an inmate in the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.
The inmate had been polishing brass when he suddenly attacked another keeper, striking him over the head several times. He then grabbed the keeper's firearm and tried to run out of the wing of the prison. He shot Keeper Fitzgerald in the back, permanently disabling him, before being shot and killed by other prison guards.
Keeper Fitzgerald had served with the New Jersey State Prison for approximately nine years.