Food Delivery Man Shot And Killed In Paterson With Wife In Car

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A restaurant owner was shot and killed next to his wife while they were making a food delivery in Paterson early Thursday morning, authorities said.

Rui Zhou, 29, of Paterson, was shot while he and his wife sat in their white Toyota Highlander on East 34th Street, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said in a news release.

Zhou's wife, Xiaomei Liu, 29, was in the car next to her husband, Valdes said. She was unharmed.

Zhou and his wife were making the last food delivery for the night from the restaurant they owned. He was shot while making the delivery and crashed the Toyota a short distance away, Valdes said.

Police responded to the scene at 12:42 a.m. on a report of a motor vehicle accident. They found Zhou unresponsive in the driver's seat. He was taken to St. Joseph's University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at about 1:09 a.m., Valdes said.

The area of Paterson where the shooting occurred is a relatively safe part of town near the Passaic River.

There were reports Thursday morning that the victim was robbed, but authorities did not release any information about Zhou or his wife being robbed.

It is the second shooting and killing of a food delivery driver in North Jersey this month.

A Bergen County pizza delivery man was killed after he was shot and crashed his car in Passaic early on July 15.

Dervy Almonte-Moore, 27, was a pizza delivery man for Jumbo's Pizza in Wallington. Authorities found him unresponsive inside his 1998 black Toyota Camry, which had hit a tree, in Passaic, Valdes previously said.

Authorities investigated and determined that Almonte-Moore may have been shot while making a delivery near 582 Paulison Ave. in Clifton before crashing his car nearby on Paulison Avenue in Passaic, Valdes said.

The corner of East 34th Street and 19th Avenue in Paterson (Google Maps)

Email daniel.hubbard@patch.com

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