Woolwich Twp. man held after standoff with police

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

Francisco Bowling, 44, had allegedly 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 with 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.

- Allison Steele