NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) is now investigating a fatal shooting on Monday night that local authorities had not publicly addressed for nearly three days.

Marcos Hernandez, a 33-year-old father from Passaic, passed away after being shot in the head at the intersection of Townsend and Drift Streets in the Fourth Ward on Monday, March 7.

Two days later, Hernandez died at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the same facility where a 27-year-old man who was shot in the leg during the same incident continues to recieve treatment, according to published reports.

Police did not notify the public of the shooting through any of their communications channels, even as large crowds gathered and the intersection was closed to both pedestrians and vehicles less than an hour after sunset.

New Brunswick Today’s Facebook page was the first major outlet to alert the public to the serious crime.  The incident occurred two blocks away from the Middlesex County Family Court in downtown New Brunswick.

According to sources, the other victim, who thus far has not been publicly identified, was shot in the leg.

The following evening, New Brunswick Police Department (NBPD) dispatched their mobile community precint, the smaller of its two truck-vans, to the same corner where the shooting occurred.

No arrests have been made, and the incident remains under investigation, according to published reports.

The incident is the first reported murder of the year, although multiple sources have alleged that a January 29 death, where a young man was found hanging in a tree, was actually a gang-related murder.  NBPD had determined that it was a suicide.

Authorities did not provide a press release to New Brunswick Today, but other media outlets were informed that anyone with information about the fatal shooting should contact Detective Craig Marchak of the MCPO at (732) 745–3254.

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.