The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General says that a New Jersey police officer shot and killed a man who attempted to run him over with his vehicle following a police chase.

According to authorities, the shooting happened Thursday around 10:15 a.m. near Mathews Drive and Pleasant View Avenue in Bloomingdale. Police were initially investigating what is believed to have been a shoplifting incident in nearby Riverdale.

Police identified the suspect as Michael Rivera, 32, of Newark. According to corrections records, Rivera had a lengthy criminal record, including prior arrests, for burglary, violence and resisting arrest.

Authorities say officers from Riverdale and Bloomingdale began to chase Rivera, who ultimately turned on to Mathews Drive – a dead-end road. Police say Rivera was driving a car wanted in connection with a theft investigation in Riverdale.

Officials say that Rivera turned his car around and encountered the pursuing officers. One of the officers stopped his car and was trying to get out when Rivera allegedly rammed the police cruiser, pinning the officer's leg. Authorities say that this officer fired several shots into Rivera's car, striking him.

Authorities say that that officer provided Rivera with first aid and took him to Chilton Medical Center, but that he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

People who live in the Bloomingdale neighborhood near Pleasant View Avenue and Matthews Drive say that incidents like this do not happen often.

The officer with the leg injury was transported to the hospital for treatment and released.

The attorney general's office will investigate the shooting, which is state law whenever a suspect is killed during a police investigation.