4 New Brunswick Teens Shot At People With Paintball Guns, Police Say

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — On Tuesday night, New Brunswick Police arrested four teens from the city who police say were firing at people with paintball guns.

New Brunswick Police say they been investigating several similar incidents over the last few weeks — where people are fired at from cars by teens with paintball guns or BB guns.

It is unknown if Tuesday night's arrests are connected to several recent "TikTok challenges," where teens are challenged by strangers on the Internet to shoot BB guns or gel guns from cars at unsuspecting people walking by. That happened April 9 in New Brunswick, where a group of four Rutgers students walking near campus were shot at with an airsoft or BB gun. One of the college students was injured. New Brunswick BB Gun Shooting May Be Part Of TikTok Challenge (April 13)

At 7:25 p.m. Tuesday, New Brunswick Police were called to respond to a call of someone shot with a paintball gun in the area of Railroad Avenue, and a second incident in the area of Feaster Park a short time later.

Based on interviews with the victims, a description of the car was obtained and a matching car was located nearby. Inside the car, officers identified four suspects, all New Brunswick teens, and recovered a paintball gun, more than 50 paint balls and multiple CO2 canisters used to shoot the paintball gun.

The local teens were identified as:

• Angel Cruz, 18, of New Brunswick
• Jose Perez-Leyva, 18, of New Brunswick
• Pedro Vasquez-Toribio, 19, of New Brunswick
• A 17-year-old juvenile from New Brunswick

The adult teens were charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and criminal mischief, and the juvenile was charged with juvenile delinquency.

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