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

BRICK, NJ — As investigators worked into the night following leads in the search for the person involved in a shooting near Brick Memorial High School that injured a teen and set off a terrifying afternoon for parents and students, Brick Township Mayor John G. Ducey had a message:

"Whatever rock the shooter or shooters crawled out from under, our police will not rest until you are under arrest," Ducey said. "You are scum and you do not belong in Brick Township."

Ducey, speaking at the Township Council meeting Tuesday night, recounted what had been "a sad and scary day, my worst day as mayor."

It started with a phone call Ducey received from the police department, telling him shots had been fired at Brick Memorial High School, he said. "The fear ran through me," he said. His immediate fear was for the safety of students, he said,

"I thought we had students who had been shot," he said.

Brick Township police said the initial report they received, at 1:47 p.m., was of shots fired with one victim. School Resource Officer Timothy McCarthy was at the school, and other Brick Township police officers in the area went straight to the school.

"Our guys were going in there like it was an active shooter situation," Ducey said, referring to Brick police officers.

The call reporting the shooting appears to have come from a school crossing guard, according to a joint news release from the Ocean County prosecutor's office and Brick police on Tuesday night.

Lockdowns went into effect immediately at both Brick Memorial and Lanes Mill Elementary School, just down Lanes Mill Road from the high school. Brick Memorial classes had dismissed for the day at 1:30 p.m., and students still in the building were there for after-school clubs and sports. Lanes Mill Elementary was scheduled to dismiss at 2:50 p.m.

As police searched the building, officers were told the 16-year-old was in the high school gym, bleeding from what they described as a "grazing wound" to the boy's shoulder.

Tactical medics — who are specifically trained to treat the injured in a dangerous situation such as an active shooter — responded to treat the boy, the prosecutor's office said. He was taken to Ocean Medical Center and his parents were with him, Brick police said. His injury was not considered life-threatening, Police Chief James Riccio said.

It was as officers checked room-by-room at Brick Memorial that they learned the boy had been shot outside the school, about a quarter-mile away, Brick police said. He then ran to the high school for help.

Ducey said he was en route when he was called and told the shooting had not happened inside the school. "It was a sigh of relief," he said. He also noted the fact that the boy ran to the school was a sign "he saw it as a safe place to go."

But Ducey, like hundreds of people across Brick Township on Tuesday, was angry. And that anger came through as he spoke at the council meeting.

"It is unacceptable for a shooting to happen in our great community in broad daylight, just as kids are getting out of school or are practicing football," Ducey said. "Our police will not rest until you are off the streets of our town." (See his full remarks below.)

Riccio, in the joint statement with Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, said investigators are looking into whether Tuesday's shooting was connected to a drive-by shooting on Saturday night at the Briar Mills apartment complex, which is off Sally Ike Road, and just a short walk from Brick Memorial High School. An 18-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the leg in the incident.

"It’s important for everyone to know this was not a school shooting," Billhimer said, but praised the response of police as "swift and professional during a time of great concern."

Riccio praised the response of students and staff in the school district: "I’d like to commend the students, teachers and administration from all of the schools involved. Everyone from the bus drivers to the custodians were calm and cooperative."

The lockdown remained in force for nearly two hours, with students at Lanes Mill finally released to parents shortly before 4 p.m. There was a steady stream of parents pulling up, going in and signing children out at the elementary school until after 5 p.m., and police officers remained at the school until at least 6:30 p.m.

Students who were at Brick Memorial were bused to the Veterans Memorial schools complex to be released to parents. Councilwoman Lisa Crate, who has children attending Brick schools, said the relief at being reunited with the parents was clear on the faces of the high schools. "They were happy to hug their parents," she said.

Lanes Mill Road remained closed to traffic from Sally Ike Road north well past Brick Memorial until almost 7:30 p.m.

Councilman Jim Fozman said he talked to residents in the area and told police officers of at least one who had a Ring doorbell surveillance camera in hopes it will assist in the investigation.

Parents commenting on the Brick Patch Facebook page said the lockdown affected at least one school bus full of students at Veterans Memorial Middle School, with the students spending more than an hour on the bus.

At the council meeting, resident Gerry Batocabe demanded answers from Ducey and the council on what is being done to address violence in the community in the wake of Tuesday's incident.

Brick Township has had two murders in the last six weeks in addition to the drive-by shooting on Saturday and Tuesday's shooting. Mark Richard Austin, 55, died Sept. 9; prosecutors say he was savagely beaten to death by his son, Mark J. Austin; and Dennis Power, 35, died of a stab wound to the chest inflicted by his fiance, Ciara Williams, on Sept. 29. Williams's attorneys say she was beaten and stabbed Power in self-defense. While neither of those incidents were cases of random violence, combined with the shootings, they have rattled the community.

"This is not acceptable. You have to do something," Batocabe said, echoing commenters on Facebook who expressed frustration over the spate of violence.

Ducey and Fozman both pointed out that the township has increased the number of police officers. Ducey said that not only has the town hired more officers, it has made changes in how police are utilized, from changes in scheduling that allow more officers to be scheduled each day to the hiring of special officers to handle booking duties so patrol officers can get back on the street more quickly. Fozman noted the neighborhood watch program that enlists the help of residents to be extra eyes and ears to work with police.

"The community has to work together and support each other," Ducey said.

Ducey, Riccio and Billhimer all thanked surrounding towns who provided additional support to Brick police as the investigation unfolded. New Jersey State Police, the Ocean County Sheriff's Office, Toms River police, Lakewood police, Bay Head police, the Monmouth County Sheriff's Department and Lakewood EMS and MONOC assisted at Brick Memorial and across town.

"It was a rainy day and there were accidents, and those officers (from Toms River, Lakewood and Bay Head) really helped us out," Ducey said. Toms River police also assisted with security at Lanes Mill Elementary School during the lockdown and the eventual dismissal.

Investigators from the Brick Township Police Department, the Major Crimes Unit of the prosecutor's office and the Ocean County Sheriff's Office are continuing to investigate.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Brick Detective Dan Waleski at 732-262-1170 or Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Detective Denis Mitchell at 732-929-2027.

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