At Least 5 Killed In N.J. During Deadly Labor Day Weekend

It was a tragic weekend in New Jersey, and not because of Tropical Storm Hermine.

At least five people were killed and numerous wounded during a deadly Labor Day weekend.

One of those wounded included an Atlantic City police officer, who has been recovering since he was shot Saturday as officers exchanged gunfire with several robbery suspects, according to authorities. One suspect was killed in the shootout.

Even with the threat of Tropical Storm Hermine hitting New Jersey, violence was still a problem on yet another holiday weekend:

• A 15-year-old girl was shot to death and another woman was wounded Saturday after a shooting in New Jersey, authorities said. The two were hit Saturday morning on the 100 block of South 10th Street in Newark, according to acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose. Read more here...
• A New Jersey man slammed into a doctor's office Monday while he had his young son in his car after he was attacked, police said. The incident happened just after 11 a.m. on Labor Day, when James Kargbo was attacked and crashed a short time later in Franklin Township’s Somerset Park apartment complex, according to NBC4 New York. Read more here...
• Also in Newark, 18-year-old Daquill Grant was found wounded Sunday and unresponsive on the 100 block of South Ninth Street. The Union resident was taken to a hospital and then died at 6:02 p.m., according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. The investigation is active and ongoing at this time; anyone with information is asked to call the Prosecutor's Tips Line at (877) 847-7432.
• In Paterson, 19-year-old Edrian J. Peguero was shot and killed Sunday at approximately 7:30 p.m. at 75 Lafayette St., according to the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office. No details were revealed, but anyone with additional information about this incident is requested to contact the Paterson Police Department-Detective Bureau at 973-321-1120. Paterson has had 20 shootings over the past 31 days, leaving five people dead and 21 wounded, while four of the homicides have happened within the past nine days, according to northjersey.com.

Three others were also wounded in shootings in Newark over the weekend, according to PIX11.

In the Atlantic City incident, two New Jersey men were arrested in connection with a shooting early Saturday that resulted in the death of one man and the shooting and hospitalization of the police officer, acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton announced.

An investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office and assisting agencies revealed that at 2:34 a.m., two uniformed Atlantic City police officers on patrol observed a robbery in progress near the Caesars Atlantic City parking garage on Arkansas Avenue, according to the ACPO.

The officers observed a group of six males. As one Atlantic City police officer exited the vehicle, he was shot and injured. The second police officer returned fire, hitting one suspect, who fled the scene.

All other people involved in the robbery also fled the scene in different directions. The suspect who had been shot was located approximately one and a half blocks away, on Missouri and Pacific avenues, where he collapsed and died. Read more here...

Also, authorities say that a Labor Day double shooting at a Newark halfway house was “not a random act.”

According to the Newark Department of Public Safety, police officers responded to a call of multiple shots fired in the area of Toler Place near the Logan Hall halfway house around 6:45 a.m. on Monday.

On arrival, the officers found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds and a parked, gray 2003 four-door Lincoln LS also struck by multiple gunshots. Read more here...

Photos courtesy of NBC4 New York and the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office