Community Mourns Track Star Fatally Shot In Car In Mercer Co.

MERCER COUNTY, NJ – The 25-year-old Ewing resident who was fatally shot inside his car in Trenton on Monday, was a star track athlete in school and college.

Daveigh Brooks was found in the driver’s seat of a black Ford Fusion with multiple gunshots, authorities said. More: Man Shot Dead Inside Car In Mercer County: Prosecutor

Daveigh was a star athlete at Burlington City High School winning the 400- and 800-meters races. He attended Bloomfield College where he was named the 2018 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Rookie of the Year. He studied sociology and criminal justice at the college.

Daveigh led the men’s team to their first conference title in 2018.

His father Aaron Brooks posted a public video on Facebook, urging witnesses to come forward.

“I’ve dedicated my life to the City of Trenton. I grew up here, I teach here, I worship here, I work here. This is my town and for somebody in this town to take my son... He wasn’t in any gang, he didn’t come from a broken home. If you knew Daveigh he always had a smile on his face. He had swag. My son was cool,” Aaron said. “My heart is broken.”

Aaron said it was the “worst feeling ever” to have the police “bang on my door.”

“If you’re a witness say something, because you could be next. I just joined a club that I never wanted to join,” Aaron said.

“I’m not asking y’all to solve the crime, because we gonna leave that up to the detectives. But I’m asking each and every one of you say something.”

Trenton Council at-large candidate, Jasi Edwards said Brooks’ death was “heartbreaking.”

“Daveigh was such a sweet and caring young man, full of promise and hope, he didn’t deserve this,” Edwards said in a Facebook post. “My deepest condolences to their families and friends and prayers for your comfort. For only God could heal your pain, though it never really goes away.”

Authorities list Daveigh's current residence in Ewing.

Pastor Lawrence Boyd of Trenton's Chosen Generation Church said he knew the Brooks family since Daveigh was born.

"It’s a sad day in the neighborhood as I make this public post I’m yet praying for Aaron and Tiffany Brooks, his siblings and extended family. He was a very active and positive young man gone too soon," Boyd said on Facebook.

Around 9:25 p.m. on Monday, Trenton police were dispatched to the rear of a home in the 300 block of Ellis Avenue for a Shot Spotter activation for multiple rounds.

Ewing police officers were already in the area of Princeton and Olden avenues on a motor vehicle stop when they heard gunshots, Onofri said. Ewing police arrived and found a black Ford Fusion parked in the middle of Greeley Alley.

Officers found Daveigh in the driver’s seat, shot multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said.

No arrests have been made. The Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the Trenton Police Department are investigating.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at (609) 989-6406. Information can also be emailed to mchtftips@mercercounty.org.

Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.comMERCER