Drive-By, Shooting Near School Linked, Brick Police Confirm

BRICK, NJ — The shooting that injured a 16-year-old Brick Memorial student is connected to a drive-by shooting that happened Saturday in a nearby condominium complex, authorities said late Wednesday afternoon.

Brick police also responded to a number of questions that were raised on social media about the lockdown that happened after the shooting and about efforts the police department is making to address problems within the township.

Brick Township police and the Ocean County prosecutor's office said the investigation is continuing and several leads are being followed up. But they said details about possible suspects or vehicles will not be released prematurely "to protect the integrity of this investigation into such a serious crime."

"Further, we have no reason to believe this incident is anything more than an isolated situation (that) developed between a small group of individuals," Brick Sgt. Jim Kelly said in the joint news release with the prosecutor's office. "As suspected, we now know that yesterday’s shooting was is related to Saturday’s shooting."

The 16-year-old boy who suffered a grazing wound to his shoulder in Tuesday's shooting and the 18-year-old who suffered the gunshot to the leg on Saturday both are expected to fully recover, police have said.

Brick Township Mayor John G. Ducey, in remarks at the Township Council meeting Tuesday night, promised the police would have all the resources they needed to find the shooter. "Whatever rock the shooter or shooters crawled out from under, our police will not rest until you are under arrest," he said. "You are scum and you do not belong in Brick Township."

Calming the community's fears will take more time, however.

Those concerns led residents to start a petition demanding specifics from Ducey on how he plans to address "a sharp increase in gang activity and drive-by shootings." The petition had more than 2,000 signatures as of 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Brick police, in Wednesday's news release, clarified some of the initial events that took place at Brick Memorial when the injured student returned to the school.

The initial information received at Brick Memorial High School prompted "a status of shelter in place, wherein students and faculty refrain from going through the halls, moving from room to room, or exiting/entering the building unless absolutely necessary."

When school officials learned there was a gunshot victim, they initiated a Code Red. That involves "students staying inside whatever classrooms they are in at that time, the doors get locked and the lights go off," Kelly said.

Police noted dismissal for the high school is 1:30 p.m. "At 1:45, there are generally many students and faculty still in and around the school because of sports and after-school activities," police said. "School doors remain locked during this time, and they were locked yesterday during the time of this incident. The shooting, as explained in our previous press release, did not happen on school grounds. When the victim ran back to the school, he was let in by another student. The victim was alone. There were no suspects with or near the victim at the time."

Doors to the school remain locked during sports and after-school activities until 3 p.m. "If students want to enter the school, the protocol is to respond to the front doors where they can be buzzed in by staff." There was nothing that indicated to police that accessibility to the school was any different on Tuesday than it is any other day, he said.

In addition, Brick police reiterated measures Police Chief James Riccio put in place to bolster school security in the wake of the February 2017 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.

1. There now are regular checks at all township schools throughout the school day, every school day of the year. Police reallocating manpower to accommodate the school checks and created extra details for officers to do school checks throughout the school day. Those school checks entail a uniformed officer in a marked patrol car responding to the school to walk the halls and outer perimeter.
2. The department helped the school district hire retired police officers who are armed and dress in plain clothes, for a consistent security presence in the schools.
3. The duties of onsite school resource officers were changed to include more active security checks on the schools.
4. The department trained school faculty regarding active shooter incidents and emergency first aid.
5. It conducted active shooter drills with all of the township's police officers and included the school security officers in that training.
6. Instituted "We Tips" and encouraged students faculty and residents report suspicious behavior.

In addition, police said, the Community Policing Division is actively involved with specialized school programs during school hours, which include D.A.R.E., Lead and Seed, Youth Prevention Coalition and Not Even Once.

"These programs are educational and involve the presence of a mixture of marked patrol cars, unmarked police vehicles, uniformed officers and plainclothes officers," police said. "We have and will continue to maintain a strong presence amidst our schools, and we believe this is the primary reason we were able to have such a quick response."

Last, the department addressed the issue of concerns about crime and quality-of-life issues, saying it has been proactive in those identified as "more prone" to issues.

"Our efforts have been very effective, however we also know that even the most effective practices will not totally eliminate the criminal element," police said. The plan is to remain proactive and diligently investigate criminal activity that occurs within our community.

"To that end, we will be adding personnel to our Selective Enforcement Team (SET) so they will have the additional resources they need to expand their operation to several areas," police said.

"Chief Riccio would like to assure our residents that we are intent on keeping our community safe, and that we will devote all available resources to addressing the issues of this incident and any others that occur," Kelly wrote.

"Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer is equally committed to the safety of the residents of Brick Township and all of Ocean County and is prepared to utilize all available resources to arrest and prosecute the person or persons responsible for this incident," the news release said.

1 Hurt In Drive-By Shooting In Brick: Police

Shots Near Brick Memorial High School Prompt Police Response

Brick's Search Continues For Shooter As Students Return To School

Brick Shooting: See Mayor Call Suspect 'Scum' After 'Scary Day'

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