3 Men Shot, 1 Killed At Toms River Lounge, Authorites Say

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Three people were shot, one fatally, early Saturday at a hookah lounge on Hooper Avenue in Toms River, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and Toms River police said.

A caller reported hearing gunshots about 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, and authorities who responded to the Top Tier Hookah Lounge in the Silverton Shopping Center found three men had been shot, the prosecutor's office said.

A 29-year-old man was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said, while two other men — another 29-year-old and a 25-year-old — were taken to Monmouth County for medical attention.

The second 29-year-old was in critical but stable condition as of Saturday afternoon, and the 25-year-old was treated for his injuries and released, authorities said.

They did not release any additional details on the victims or on potential suspects.

A hookah lounge is a business where people gather to smoke flavored tobacco from a communal pipe called a hookah pipe, according to VeryWellMind.com.

Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Toms River Police Chief Mitch Little said the investigation is active and ongoing.

"There is no known danger to the public at this time," Billhimer and Little said in a joint news release.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime and High Tech Crime units, Toms River police and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit are investigating.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to contact Detective Denis Mitchell of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027, or Detective Jennifer Grob of the Toms River Police Department at 732-349-0150, authorities said.