gathering

2 killed, 8 shot at large Trenton, N.J., street gathering

Aug. 30 (UPI) — Two people were killed and eight others were wounded in a shooting that erupted early Sunday during what officials have called “a large unauthorized adult gathering” in the New Jersey capital of Trenton.

No arrests appeared to have been made as of late Sunday.

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that police responded to the 100 block of Locust Street at about 12:33 a.m. EDT following reports of multiple shots fired, arriving on the scene to find 10 people struck by gunfire. Officials initially reported 11 people shot.

Little information about the cause of the shooting has been made public, but the prosecutor’s office said it occurred as an estimated 100 people were on the street. Trenton Mayor W. Reed Gusciora said it was a gathering of 200 people or more.

The prosecutor’s office identified the two dead victims as a 33-year-old woman and a 42-year-old man.

The eight other gunshot victims, identified as two women and six men ranging in age from, 23 to 43, were treated for their injuries at Capital Health Regional Medical Center and have been stabilized, according to the prosecutor’s office.

The identities of the deceased were being withheld, but Gusciora said the man “had been working to turn his life around after returning home from incarceration and had recently been recognized for his commitment to re-entry and positive change.”

“My heart goes out to the families of the two people whose lives were taken, to everyone who was wounded and to the residents of the Wilbur Section who awoke this morning to another painful reminder of the consequences of gun violence,” Gusciora said in a statement.

“One of the things that makes an incident like this particularly painful is that people’s lives are often far more complicated than a police report can capture.”

More than 50 spent shell casings were located at the scene, authorities said, adding that multiple cars were struck by gunfire.

Authorities and officials said someone in attendance must have seen what occurred and called on those with information about the shooting to come forward.

“Protecting someone responsible for taking a life only puts another neighborhood at risk,” the mayor said.

The shooting is being investigated by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the Trenton Police Department.

City officials will be seeking to crack down on large, unauthorized gatherings and are examining strategies used by other cities to prevent further incidents from occurring. Police will immediately engage community partners in the Wilbur Section of the city and talk to residents to “prevent retaliation or additional violence,” the mayor said, adding that a gathering of the size seen overnight creates serious safety concerns for those in attendance as well as residents of the surrounding area.

“This is not about criminalizing people for gathering together. It is about recognizing the difference between a gathering and hundreds of people occupying a residential street without authorization, particularly when firearms and violence become part of that environment,” Gusciora said.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said she’s been briefed on the shooting.

“My attorney general remains in close contact with officials on the ground,” she said in an online statement.

“I’m thinking of the families who lost loved ones, those who were injured and the Trenton community.”

According to The Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 317 mass shootings involving four or more victims so far this year.

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