NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Judge Dennis Nieves set bail at $1 million for Dawonne Cooper, a city resident who police arrested and charged with the murder of Joshua Zhou, a student at Raritan Valley Community College.

Zhou, a 19-year-old New Brunswick resident, was pronounced dead last night after he was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.  The shooting took place in the basement of 44 Robinson Street.

Cooper, a 22-year-old resident of Fernwood Court in New Brunswick, allegedly attempted to rob Zhou before shooting him, according to a release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

“A city man was charged today with felony murder following an attempt to rob a 19-year-old man who was fatally shot,” said the release.

Judge Nieves said that Cooper will be required to post the entire $1 million bail and will not be entitled use a bondsman, also known as “the 10% option.”

The release said the investigation is active and continuing.

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.

Editor at New Brunswick Today | 732-993-9697 | editor@newbrunswicktoday.com | Website

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.

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.