S.J. man in custody after standoff with police

A Woolwich Township man was taken into police custody this morning after a 90-minute standoff with members of the Gloucester County SWAT team.

Francisco Bowling, 44, had threatened to shoot himself and his girlfriend with a handgun. He surrendered without incident shortly after 11 a.m. after speaking by phone with a SWAT negotiator, authorities said.

Bowling, who lived the woman and her son in a boarding house off Township Line Road, has a history of mental illness, according to the Gloucester County prosecutor's office. He is expected to undergo psychiatric evaluation and may face criminal charges.

His girlfriend, who was not home during the standoff, had called Bowling's doctor about threats she said he had made over the weekend. The doctor called police, who went to Bowling's home at about 9:30 a.m.

Bowling came out of the house, yelling that he had a gun, according to authorities. Police called in the SWAT team and evacuated the building's other boarders.