Man Shot BB Gun At Rutgers Student, Say Police

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Last month, Rutgers campus police warned that teenagers or young adults have been shooting at people from cars with pellet or BB guns, in what may be a TikTok challenge.

Now this week, Rutgers Police say they charged a 21-year-old Middlesex County man with one of the incidents (there have been multiple).

Tapashvi H. Patel, 21, from Colonia, was charged Tuesday with simple assault.

Police say he fired a pellet gun at a Rutgers student, a young woman, at 4:48 p.m. May 10 as she was walking near the intersection of College Avenue and Senior Street. The woman called 911 and said she was struck by pellets that were discharged from a passing car.

The pellets were soft water beads discharged from a toy air gun, said Rutgers Chief of Police Kenneth Cop.

Patel is not a Rutgers student.

The first incident happened Saturday night, April 9, when a group of four Rutgers students were fired at from the car at around 8 p.m. while walking near the intersection of George and Bayard streets. One of the students was injured, but he did not require medical attention.

The car was described as a tan Toyota Sienna minivan. No arrests have been made in that pellet gun shooting.

There is a challenge currently on TikTok asking teens to conduct "drive-by shootings" where they fire a BB gun or pellet gun at other teens walking by. Teens across the nation have been injured from being shot in the face and even a 6-year-old was injured when he or she was shot by an Orbeez gun in Montana, according to this local Montana news report.

Prior: New Brunswick BB Gun Shooting May Be Part Of TikTok Challenge