Woodbridge Man, 21, Fired BB Gun At Rutgers Student, Police Say

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Last month, Rutgers campus police warned that teenagers or young adults have been shooting at people from cars with pellet or BB guns, in what may be a TikTok challenge.

And now this week, a 21-year-old man from Woodbridge has been charged with one of the incidents (there have been multiple), said Rutgers Police.

Tapashvi H. Patel, 21, from Colonia, was charged Tuesday with simple assault.

Police say he fired a pellet gun at a Rutgers student, a young woman, at 4:48 p.m. May 10 as she was walking near the intersection of College Avenue and Senior Street. The woman called 911 and said she was struck by pellets that were discharged from a passing car.

The pellets were soft water beads discharged from a toy air gun, said Rutgers Chief of Police Kenneth Cop.

Patel is not a Rutgers student.

The first incident happened Saturday night, April 9, when a group of four Rutgers students were fired at from the car at around 8 p.m. while walking near the intersection of George and Bayard streets. One of the students was injured, but he did not require medical attention.

The car was described as a tan Toyota Sienna minivan. No arrests have been made in that pellet gun shooting.

There is a challenge currently on TikTok asking teens to conduct "drive-by shootings" where they fire a BB gun or pellet gun at other teens walking by. Teens across the nation have been injured from being shot in the face and even a 6-year-old was injured when he or she was shot by an Orbeez gun in Montana, according to this local Montana news report.

Prior: New Brunswick BB Gun Shooting May Be Part Of TikTok Challenge