NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – Friends and family are mourning the loss of a 19-year-old man who was shot dead in a basement on Robinson Street in the city’s Sixth Ward.
Joshua Zhou, who went by the nickname “Chino,” was originally from Somerset, but lived in New Brunswick.
A spokesman for Rutgers University confirmed he was not a student at the University, but he was friends with many undergraduates according to those close to him.
The shooting took place at 44 Robinson Street, in the heart of a neighborhood occupied primarily by Rutgers students.
Zhou was shot in the chest and shoulder last night at approximately 9:28pm.
According to police radio transmissions, the New Brunswick Fire Department was dispatched to the basement of the Robinson Street home to “assist with a technical rescue” at 9:40pm.
About 10 minutes later, a police officer reported finding a “small caliber handgun” in front of 5 Lorain Street. It is not immediately clear if an arrest was made, but police did identify a “possible suspect” in the area.
The suspect was described as a light-skinned black male approximately 6′ tall, wearing a grey and white hoodie, white-colored jeans and white shoes. He was said to have fled through backyards, headed towards Louis Street.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s office issued a statement on the investigation at 2:19pm today.
“A preliminary investigation by Detective Kenneth Abode of the New Brunswick Police Department and Investigator Scott Crocco of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office has determined that the shooting does not appear to be a random act.”
The release said the investigation was “active and continuing.”
Zhou was pronounced dead at 10:26pm at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, according to the release.
As we reported this morning, he is the third shooting victim this week in New Brunswick, and the first to die of his wounds.
Anyone with information on the shooting has been asked to contact Detective Abode of the New Brunswick Police Department at (732) 745-5200, or Investigator Crocco of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-4471.
Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.
