If only New Jersey had a gun law…
Via The Trentonian:
A 24-hour celebration that showcases local artists turned into the Wild West early Sunday morning amidst a fight inside a warehouse.
At least one person was killed and numerous others were injured in a shootout that happened at the Art All Night celebration in the Roebling Market section of the city.
“When we got here around 2:30, it didn’t look like we were coming to Art All Night,” city resident Franco Roberts said. “It looked like we were outside of a Philadelphia club after the bar closes and people who don’t want to leave are standing around their cars smoking and drinking.”
Roberts and his girlfriend had a feeling something bad was going to happen because there were “more people outside than in the warehouse” and no music was playing inside, he said.
“There’s usually a lot of noise and a lot of music but there was none of that,” Robert said. “Someone told us they were shutting down the whole building. Then we turned around and saw people squaring up to fight.”
And that’s when gunshots rang out.
“I saw two punches and then heard several gunshots,” Roberts said.
Roberts said chaos ensued as people fled from the building. He and other witnesses did not know exactly how many people were shooting, but they say it sounded as if there was more than one gunman.
“Everybody ran toward the door,” he said. “And the people fighting got mixed with the crowd that was running and they went out the door shooting.”
Officials say off- and on-duty police in the area returned gunfire as the gunmen fled the building shooting.
Officials confirmed a 33-year-old male believed to be one of the shooters died, and that at least 16 people were struck by gunfire, including a 13-year-old male who is hospitalized in extremely critical condition. Three others are hospitalized in critical condition as well. A total of 20 people were taken to the hospital to treat injuries sustained during the incident.
One suspect is in police custody, but officials have not released his name.
It’s unclear at this time whether the deceased victim was shot by police or another suspect.