What had become the largest manhunt in North Bergen in ages ended in bloodshed Tuesday night, when Guillermo Gonzalez, the suspect in the shooting of his girlfriend Barbara Aguila, fatally shot himself in front of three North Bergen police officers. According to police reports, the 48-year-old Gonzalez turned a .380 automatic handgun on himself at approximately 8:30 p.m. Tuesday evening in a parking lot adjacent to the Tonnelle Avenue home that Gonzalez had shared with Aguila and her family. The series of tragedies began a week earlier. On Tuesday, Jan. 11, Gonzales allegedly shot Aguila, 38, once in the head after the two apparently had a heated argument. Witnesses told police they saw Gonzalez shoot Aguila, then drive off in her 1983 Lincoln Continental. Aguila was rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center, where she remains in stable condition, as her wounds are not considered life-threatening. She was shot in the temple, but the bullet exited the back of the neck because of the line of fire. Gonzales then disappeared for a week. That is, until this past Tuesday. Sgt. Robert Hovan and police officers Mark Johnson and John Martin responded to a phone call that day that apparently came from Aguila’s family, who stated that Gonzalez was inside their home. “The officers were dispatched to the home,” North Bergen Police Chief Angelo Busacco said. “Upon arrival, the officers noticed the actor walking south into the parking lot adjacent to the home. The officers then confronted Gonzalez and he reached for his weapon. He began to raise the weapon and was ordered by the officers to drop the weapon. He refused. For reasons unknown, he turned his back to the officers and fired one shot through his heart.” The officers then sought emergency medical help. Paramedics rushed Gonzalez to Jersey City Medical Center, where he died at 10:07 p.m. Busacco said that the weapon that Gonzalez used to administer the fatal shot to himself was a weapon that had been declared stolen in Miami in 1979. Gonzales also had used it to shoot Aguila last Tuesday. Gonzalez, a native of Cuba, came to the United States in 1980 and shortly thereafter moved to North Bergen. The pair had had a very stormy relationship. Two weeks ago, on Jan. 2, Aguila reported to the police that Gonzalez had poured gasoline over her body and tried to set her on fire. At the time, Aguila had a temporary restraining order placed against Gonzalez. He had not been seen before the first shooting. Gonzalez’s disappearance after the shooting sparked a massive manhunt that included “Wanted” posters being posted throughout the township and additional police manpower being called upon to track down the suspect. There had been no sign of Gonzalez other than police finding Aguila’s abandoned vehicle last Friday on 66th Street in West New York. Gonzalez was sentenced to probation for an arrest in West New York for drug possession in June. In addition to attempted murder charges, Gonzalez was facing charges for aggravated assault, weapons possession, motor vehicle theft and the attempted arson charge from Jan. 2. He was also violating his probation for the drug arrest. According to Busacco, the case is now officially closed with Gonzalez’s suicide. “We were fortunate to have a couple of leads that brought us to Gonzalez, and he probably knew that we were closing in,” Busacco said. “We still don’t know why he went back to the house Tuesday night. We were interviewing family members, asking why that might have happened.” Added Busacco, “We don’t like to see someone take their own life, but he was a very dangerous man. Thank God nothing happened to our police officers. They used restraint in not firing their weapons. It could have been a very justified shooting.” The officers involved in the case were taken off duty that night and treated for hypertension. “The entire department was on alert and we’re glad that we brought this case to a quick end,” Busacco said.
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