Man Shot Multiple Times at Hope's Crossing

A 19 year-old Toms River resident was shot multiple times as gunfire erupted outside a Hopes Crossing apartment around 11 p.m. Thursday, police said.

Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy said the victim, who was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, was found shot, lying outside an apartment on Tolerance Court, bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds to his leg and hand. The victim’s name was not released.

A spray of gunfire pierced through windows and walls of nearby apartments, and a parked vehicle was also damaged by the shooting, Mastronardy said. Saying the investigation was still ongoing, the police chief added the number of shots fired and the activity leading up to the shooting was unknown at this time.

Police are searching for an Hispanic male, with short dark hair in his 20s, believed to be approximately 5’11” and wearing a white shirt. The police chief said the incident is possibly gang related.

Though no occupants were injured, three apartments were hit with gunfire in Hopes Crossing off Massachusetts Avenue and Cox Cro Road, Mastronardy said. Windows were shattered, and bullets lodged in walls of two of the apartments, he said.

“The investigation found that multiple shots were fired, many striking the victim and three that entered into three separate apartments and traveled through walls and cabinets,” Mastronardy said.  “None of the occupants in the apartments were struck by bullets.  Police also found a vehicle parked in the lot suffered damage as it was struck by two bullets.”

The victim, a resident of the Silverton section of Toms River, was transported by Toms River EMS to the hospital.

A block away from the shooting, the Toms River Police substation property at Cox Cro Road and Massachusetts Avenue was filled with police vehicles as investigators and officers worked past 1 a.m. as part of the investigation.
Toms River Police and Ocean County Sheriff vehicles lined Massachusetts Avenue and Hope Crossing Road. Hope Crossing Road, which is also the entrance to the development, was closed to traffic.

The area remained an active crime scene past 1 a.m. Officers from the county criminal investigation unit, unmarked police vehicles and the Toms River Police K-9 unit continued to arrive at Hope’s Crossing as police tape fluttered from a neighborhood watch sign to a nearby fence.

Ocean County Prosecutors and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department is assisting with the investigation.   Captain Steve Henry coordinated the police response and police are investigating if the shooting is gang related.   Toms River Police request anyone with information to call Detective Marc Bajada at 349-0150-ext 1241.