A Sayreville police officer has been found dead of a gunshot wound in a parking lot off Route 9, authorities say.

The officer was parked in the lot next to the former Amboy Cinemas on Route 9 along the Garden State Parkway. The theater closed in 2005 but the building remains standing.

Throughout the morning, a group of investigators with the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office and uniformed police were gathered behind and next to a black Dodge with a shattered window where the officer's body was discovered. The car was not a police vehicle.

Reporters were being kept behind crime scene tape about 100 yards from the scene.

Authorities have not released the name of the officer involved.

In a statement, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office said it was investigating the report of the discovery of a body with Sayreville Police. Middlesex County Prosecutor Anthony Carey later confirmed in a statement to media the person found was a Sayreville officer:

New Jersey Fast Traffic Bob Williams reported a lane was closed on Route 9 northbound approaching the Edison Bridge as vehicles involved in the investigation took up a lane around 9:30 a.m.

Sayreville Police have not yet returned a message seeking further information.

— Dan Alexander, David Matthau and the Associated Press contributed to this report

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