Authorities say the suspect surrendered Sunday afternoon after barricading himself inside a burning home.
KEARNY, N.J. — A man was arrested Sunday after police said he killed another man with a bow and arrow on Saturday night, then barricaded himself in a Kearny Avenue home that later caught fire, prompting an hourslong SWAT response and a shelter-in-place order in the neighborhood.
Officials said the sequence began around 6:45 p.m. Saturday when officers found a wounded man near Kearny and Johnston avenues. He was identified as 45-year-old Pablo Criollo of Harrison and later pronounced dead at a Newark hospital. By early Sunday, investigators had focused on a residence along Kearny Avenue, where the person of interest refused to come out. Negotiators and the Hudson County Regional SWAT team remained on scene through the night as firefighters battled flames inside the same building. The incident snarled traffic, sent neighbors to nearby shelters and drew a large emergency response to the West Hudson town just before the holiday week.
Authorities later identified the suspect as 44-year-old Oscar Feijoo of Kearny. Acting Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello said investigators traced Feijoo to the Kearny Avenue address after Criollo was found with an arrow embedded in his back. “He exited the home armed with knives and was taken into custody shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Neighbors described a tense night punctuated by loudspeaker calls from police and bursts of flames. “Five in the morning, the fire started. They told everybody out,” said Ana Cristina Pacheco, who lives nearby. The Red Cross assisted evacuees as firefighters from multiple towns responded to the multi-alarm blaze.
Officials said the home ignited while SWAT negotiations were underway, and firefighters reported flames shooting from the structure in the predawn hours. Police recovered the barricaded man hours later after the fire was knocked down. Witnesses said officers had rifles trained on the doorway as smoke drifted across Kearny Avenue. One passerby told reporters he initially mistook the victim for a man sleeping outside a corner shop before seeing the arrow. By Sunday afternoon, investigators taped off several addresses on the block, and utility crews and arson investigators cycled in and out of the charred house. The motive for the killing remains unknown. Authorities did not report any injuries to officers or firefighters.
The prosecutor’s office charged Feijoo with murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and aggravated arson. Additional counts could follow as detectives process evidence and collect statements. Criollo, described by relatives as an immigrant father from Harrison, was taken to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead a short time after officers arrived. Detectives from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide and Crime Scene units are leading the case with Kearny police, while fire investigators examine how and where the blaze started inside the residence.
Kearny has seen major emergency mobilizations for structure fires, but a homicide by bow and arrow is rare in the area, residents said. The response Sunday brought the Hudson County Regional SWAT team and fire departments from Harrison, North Arlington, Belleville and Jersey City, among others. The incident also triggered a shelter-in-place alert for blocks around Kearny Avenue and Johnston Avenue late Saturday into Sunday morning. The order was lifted after the arrest, though police told neighbors to expect a sustained presence as investigators documented the scene and coordinated with insurers and utility providers following the fire damage.
Prosecutors said Feijoo surrendered after hours of negotiations and emerged wearing soot-stained clothing with knives in hand. Officers detained him without further incident. He was expected to be processed and lodged at the county jail pending a first court appearance. Charging documents will be forwarded to a judge for an initial detention decision. Officials said they are still determining whether the victim and suspect knew each other. No timeline was released for the results of the medical examiner’s findings or laboratory testing of recovered weapons and debris.
Residents spent Sunday sweeping ash from porches and checking on displaced neighbors. “It’s just such a quiet, quaint neighborhood,” said Isabel Abreu, who was told to shelter in place with her child. “We heard officers on the loudspeaker all night.” Others gathered near police tape as investigators took photographs of a storefront and the scorched facade. “Police handled it very well. They helped us,” said a neighbor identified as Mani Dacire. By evening, crews were still monitoring hot spots and boarding windows as detectives canvassed for security video from nearby businesses.
As of Monday afternoon, Feijoo faced murder and arson charges while the prosecutor’s office continued to investigate how the fire started and what led to the fatal attack. Officials said more information would be released after an autopsy and the suspect’s first appearance, expected this week.
Author note: Last updated December 22, 2025.