20 Hit, 1 Dead in New Jersey Shooting

20 Hit, 1 Dead in New Jersey Shooting
Jack Phillips
6/17/2018
Updated:
6/17/2018

At least 20 people were shot at an event in New Jersey, including a boy who is in critical condition, according to officials.

A suspected gunman was fatally shot by police and a second suspect was arrested when gunfire erupted at 3 a.m. in Trenton, according to reports.

“Preliminary investigation reveals that multiple individuals attending the Art All Night event opened fire within the venue. … Multiple weapons have been recovered,” Angelo Onofri, prosecutor for Mercer County, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Onofri said that more than 1,000 people were believed to have been at the festival when the shooting took place. “It absolutely could have been worse, given the confined space and the number of shots that appear to have been fired,” Onofri said.

Organizers canceled the remainder of the event after the shooting. “We’re still processing much of this and we don’t have many answers at this time but please know that our staff, our volunteers, our artists and musicians all seem to be healthy and accounted for,” the organizers wrote on Facebook Sunday. “Our sincere, heartfelt sympathies are with those who were injured.”
Ernie Rivas, who owns a shop nearby, told The Associated Press, “I’ve never seen this happen. It’s bad, I feel bad, especially on Father’s Day.”

“My sympathy goes out to the victims and their families,” Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson said at a Sunday press conference. “All shootings are a crisis. This is not just a random act of violence—this is a public health issue.”

Officials have not yet released any motives for the shooting.

A witness told The Trentonian that they saw a fight break out before the shooting occurred. “I saw two punches and then heard several gunshots,” Franco Roberts said.

“Everybody ran toward the door,” he added. “And the people fighting and shooting got mixed with the crowd that was running and they went out the door shooting.”

Angelo Nicolo told WPVI that he and his brother were at the event when they heard loud noises before people started running.

“And all of a sudden, my brother goes to me, ‘You hear that gunfire?’ I go, ‘It sounds like fireworks.’ He said, ‘No, that’s gunfire.’ Next thing you know, we turn around and everybody’s running down the street. All hell broke loose,” Nicolo said.

“I saw two police officers escort a guy that got shot in the leg; they bandaged him up and whisked him away before the ambulance came here,” he added to WPVI. “It was pretty gnarly.”
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Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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