The Farmingdale man who was killed by police Saturday was described by a family member Monday as a troubled genius who had stopped taking his medication and was hoping to return to prison or end his life.

Paul Fritze, 41, was shot when he confronted state police outside his neighbors’ home on Bowman Street around 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Several hours earlier, Fritze allegedly entered the house and opened fire at two occupants, both of whom fled uninjured.

“He was distraught, he was depressed and he had a lot of problems,” said Fritze’s sister Zina Fritze of Augusta. “But I don’t think he ever meant to hurt anybody.”

The events that led to the shooting began around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, when Paul Fritze walked to the raised ranch at 210 Bowman St.

Fritze went to his neighbor’s home for a birthday party and started shooting at the occupants once inside, said state police spokesman Steve McCausland. The homeowners fled the house and called police.

Dozens of state troopers and the tactical team converged on the home. Fritze emerged from the house after several hours and was confronted by the tactical team before being shot.

There was no immediate indication of what might have caused Fritze’s rampage or of what occurred in his encounter with police. His family described a history of substance abuse and mental illness.

Paul Fritze had an IQ over 150, said his sister, but he suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder and Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism.

“He was mentally ill and was supposed to be on medication,” Zina Fritze said.

She said her brother stopped taking his medication in 2009 and started drinking to cope with emotional and financial struggles.

He lived in the house his father owned at 168 Bowman St. since 2002. His father died in April. Neighbors said they noticed Paul Fritze’s behavior becoming more erratic since then.

Zina Fritze said her brother once told her the only place he ever felt safe was in prison. “He didn’t want to be on the outside,” she said. “That’s probably what he was trying to do, go back to prison.”

She also said it is possible Paul Fritze was hoping police would kill him.