NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Authorities announced today that Raheem Fuqua, a 30-year-old city resident died this morning from gunshot wounds sufferred Saturday afternoon on Seaman Street.

Fuqua was in critical condition at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the same building where he was hospitalized after being shot three times in October 2012.

In the October 2012 incident, where Fuqua was shot three times, a 21-year-old mother Jessica Torres, was tragically killed following a function at the Masonic Temple on Hale Street.

New Brunswick Today originally reported that police on scene Saturday described two persons in total were injured in the shooting, but the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office today announced two other people were shot in the incident.

A suspect charged with hindering the investigation, 25-year-old Christian Peguero of South Brunswick, was shot in the leg, and an innocent bystander in a parked minivan was shot in his left arm.

City police determined that Peguero was part of the group that fatally wounded Fuqua, who was found on his front steps armed with a handgun, but it appeared that the weapon had not been fired.

According to the release, Fuqua was shot when an undisclosed number of men opened fire and fled in a vehicle at 3:25 p.m.  Accoring to police radio transmissions, police sought a white car, possibly a Nissan Altima that fled the scene.

A witness who wished to remain anonymous told New Brunswick Today that they saw a car matching the description of the suspect’s vehicle driving recklessly before parking in the Walgreen’s parking lot at the intersection of French Street and Jersey Avenues.

From there, the witness said that the suspects switched vehicles, quickly hopping into a black car and speeding away.

Fuqua was a cousin of outspoken activist Tormel Pittman, a frequent critic of the city’s Police Department and political leaders.  Following the 2011 police killing of Barry Deloatch, a 47-year-old unarmed city resident, Pittman began leading mass protests and speaking out about issues of inequality at the New Brunswick City Council’s meetings.

The block of Seaman Street near the Northeast Corridor railroad tracks has seen several intense incidents involving city police, State Police, and even the US Marshalls in recent years.

In April of last year, Raheem and five members of his family were arrested and charged in a statewide drug bust that netted 26 arrests in six counties.

Police said the investigation is active and is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Gregus of the New Brunswick Police Department at (732) 745-4217, or Investigator Temple of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3373.

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.