Two Homicides Under Investigation In Union County

According to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office:

Two separate homicides that occurred Sunday in Elizabeth are under investigation, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park and Elizabeth Police Chief Patrick Shannon announced Monday.

It was shortly after 3 a.m. on Sunday when first responders were called to the area of Bond and East Sixth streets in Elizabeth to find 23-year-old Jiahad Chapman of Elizabeth suffering from gunshot wounds. Chapman was rushed to Trinitas Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

At approximately 8:45 p.m. on Sunday, police were called to the corner convenience store on the 400 block of Jackson Avenue in Elizabeth to find two shooting victims, a 57-year-old male and a 61-year-old male. Both victims were rushed to a local hospital, where the 57-year-old was pronounced dead at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Monday; his identity is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin. The other shooting victim remains hospitalized in stable condition, and an investigation has revealed that this incident stemmed from an apparent attempted robbery of the convenience store.

As of Monday afternoon there was no known evidence indicating that the two shootings were related. Both homicides remain under joint investigation by the Union County Homicide Task Force and the Elizabeth Police Department.

Anyone with information about the death of Mr. Chapman is being urged to contact Union County Prosecutor’s Office Sgt. Kevin Grimmer at 908-447-3777 or Detective Danika Ramos at 908-451-7739. Anyone with information about the death of Mr. Smith is being urged to contact Prosecutor’s Office Sgt. Jose Vendas at 908-358-3048 or Detective Brendan Sullivan at 908-966-0999.

The Union County Crime Stoppers also are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment in either of these cases; tips can be given anonymously by phone at 908-654-TIPS (8477), via text message by texting “UCTIP” and a message to 274637 (CRIMES), or online at www.uctip.org.