Teen Charged With Murder In Shooting Death Inside Mercer Co. Deli

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — A teen was charged in the double shooting that occurred inside an Ewing Township deli that left one man dead and another injured, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said Wednesday.

The 17-year-old Trenton teen was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, first-degree felony murder, first-degree robbery, and firearms offenses.

Around 6:10 a.m. on June 6, Ewing police responded to Priori’s Deli, 301 Hillcrest Avenue. On arrival, officers found two men suffering from gunshot wounds. The men were taken to the hospital, where 54-year-old Oscar Palacios was pronounced dead. The second man, a 57- year-old Trenton resident, was hospitalized and later released. The two men are brothers and employees of the deli, Onofri said. More: 1 Killed, 1 Injured In Double Shooting Inside Mercer County Deli

According to the investigation, around 6 a.m. the men opened the deli and soon after the teen entered, wearing a dark mask covering his face, and ordered food. he then pointed a handgun at the men and demanded money, Onofri said.

The teen fired the gun, grazing the 57-year-old man’s forehead. A physical struggle ensued, during which the teen shot him in the abdomen, authorities said. The juvenile then fired again, striking Oscar Palacios in the chest, Onofri said. The juvenile then fled on a bicycle.

Authorities identified the teen through surveillance video from the surrounding area

The teen was taken into custody on an unrelated warrant on June 21. At the time, Detectives noticed that he was wearing the same sneakers observed in the surveillance video from June 6, authorities said. They also found what appeared to be dried blood on the juvenile’s sneakers, authorities said.

On July 29 Homicide Task Force Detectives received the results of laboratory analysis from the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences that identified the blood on the juvenile’s shoes to be a DNA match to the 57-year-old victim shot inside the deli.

The teen is being held in the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center.