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

BRICK, NJ — As students returned to school Wednesday, authorities were continuing to look for the person or people who shot a 16-year-old Brick Memorial High School student on Tuesday after school let out for the day.

Extra police officers were at the township's schools on Wednesday, even though the event was not a school shooting, Brick Township Police Chief James Riccio said. There have been no arrests but authorities are continuing to follow all possible leads to find the shooter or shooters.

That includes looking at whether Tuesday's shooting was connected to a drive-by shooting on Saturday night at the Briar Mills apartment complex where an 18-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the leg. The complex, off Sally Ike Road, is just a short walk from Brick Memorial High School.

Authorities have not released specifics about possible suspects.

Tuesday's shooting shook residents throughout the township, however, and prompted a petition demanding action from township officials to address the spike in violence.

"(Fifteen) years ago, Brick NJ was declared the second safest 'city' in the United States and now we're contending with a sharp increase in gang activity and drive by shootings," the petition organized by a person using the pseudonym "RestoreSafetyToBrickNJ" said. "As a concerned parent of three children who will be going through Brick's public school system, I want to know what the town's plans are to curb gang violence and restore the safety of the town."

The petition, addressed to Brick Township Mayor John Ducey, had nearly 2,000 signatures as of 4 p.m.

Ducey had harsh words for the shooter Tuesday evening, calling the shooter "scum" and promising that Brick police will not rest until the person is arrested. Here are his full remarks:

Authorities have not released any details about what may have prompted Tuesday's shooting.

Neighbors said police were in the area Wednesday asking residents for any surveillance video that may have captured part of the incident or any suspects, NJ.com reported.

The shooting left the teen with a grazing wound to his shoulder, and he ran into the gym at Brick Memorial High School, bleeding and seeking help, authorities said. The school had dismissed at 1:30 p.m., and the shooting happened about a quarter-mile away. Police received a report of shots fired at 1:47 p.m. and responded immediately, with both Brick Memorial and Lanes Mill Elementary School placed on lockdown.

Some parents were questioning why and how the boy was able to get back into the school, and whether that was creating a potential danger for students and staff in the event someone wanted to get into the school to do harm.

"It appears that the injured student was let into the school by another student who was inside the school," Riccio said Wednesday morning by email. "The doors were not unlocked or open."

"It's important for everyone to know this was not a school shooting," Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Tuesday night. But the proximity to the school still had parents concerned.

"I don't know if I should let my granddaughter go to school in the morning," one woman said after Tuesday's Brick Township Council meeting. "How do I know she will be safe?"

"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," Brick Township Mayor John G. Ducey said at the meeting. "Our police will not rest until you are off the streets of our town."

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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