NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—City police responded to the Schwartz-Robeson public housing neighborhood in the Fourth Ward after a report of at least three shots fired on June 17.
The incident occurred following a fight in the neighborhood, located between Van Dyke and Quentin Avenues, according to New Brunswick Police Department (NBPD) radio transmissions.
“About an hour ago, there was a [disturbance] there,” said a dispatcher, who noted there were five to ten people who called police when the shots were fired at approximately 6:10pm.
“A fight broke out around 5:30 and someone was shooting around 6:10,” a Schwartz-Robeson resident told NBToday. Â “There were a lot of children outside playing and someone could have been killemd.”
It marks the latest in a string of violent incidents in the neighborhood. Â Five weeks earlier, a fight precipitated a shooting in the same area.
One neighborhood source indicated that the people involved in the violent incidents are “guests of people who live here.”
Like this most recent incident, police were unable to locate any victims on May 8 and did not announce their investigation with a press release.
Police proactively contacted both of the city’s major hospitals in case a gunshot wounded victim were to arrive at the emergency room, but according to transmissions, no one showed up at either hospital.
Rather, a car and possibly one of the public housing buildings were struck by gunfire.
“Upon their arrival [police] located a vehicle which appeared to have been struck by a projectile consistent with a bullet,” said Captain JT Miller, who serves as the NBPD’s public information officer.
“It looks like we have a round through the maintenance door at 36 Wright Place,” said one officer on the scene. Â Officers waited for a worker with the New Brunswick Housing Authority to let them into the building to investigate further.
According to radio transmissions, a witness claimed to have seen several people stash guns in the trunk of a tan Nissan Altima parked on Simplex Avenue, several blocks away.
“These guys came running from the other direction,” said one officer on the radio. Â “They walked up to it, then they stuffed guns into the trunk, got in it and drove off.”
The witness also said there was a silver Chevrolet Cavalier trailing behind that may have also been involved.
One of the suspects was described as a “[black] male with a beard, a teardrop tattoo… under the left eye, jeans, a black shirt and white shoes.
“He’s the one who pulled out a semi-automatic handgun out of his waistband and put it in the trunk.”
Still, police have not made any arrests or identified any suspects, according to the department.
“There are no suspects at this time however detectives continue to investigate,” said Captain Miller.
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.
