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Trenton Shooting: 9 People Hit by Gunfire Outside Bar Trenton Shooting: 10 People Hit by Gunfire Outside Bar
(about 7 hours later)
TRENTON — Nine people were injured early Saturday morning in a drive-by shooting in front of a bar in Trenton, city officials said. TRENTON — New Jersey’s capital once boasted of its outsize industrial prowess with the phrase “Trenton Makes, the World Takes,” but that activity has largely dried up, and what Trenton seems to make lately is headlines for violent crime.
People were gathered in front of the bar, Ramoneros Liquor and Bar on Brunswick Avenue, enjoying a seasonable beginning to Memorial Day weekend when a car pulled up and at least one gunman began firing. Last year, Mayor W. Reed Gusciora took office mere weeks after a shooting in June in which 22 people were injured after gunmen opened fire during an arts festival.
The crowd scattered. Some people took cover behind parked cars until the car sped away. He vowed to increase police patrols at large events and conducted an extensive search for a new director of the Police Department, but the violence has continued.
“Why is it that these shootings keep going on and on and on?” asked Lisa Austin-Granville, a local pastor who prayed amid blood stains and broken glass on the sidewalk. It erupted again early on Saturday morning with a drive-by shooting in front of a bar that left 10 people hospitalized, city officials said.
Ms. Austin-Granville accused the city authorities of failing to prevent shootings, saying, “I should not know so many parents that have lost children.” The shooting followed four homicides in the past month, including the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old grandson of a mayoral aide, police officials said.
The wounded were taken to local hospitals and two required emergency surgery, but all were expected to survive, said Mayor Reed Gusciora of Trenton. Early on Saturday morning, a crowd in front of the bar, Ramoneros Liquor and Bar on Brunswick Avenue, was enjoying a seasonable beginning to Memorial Day weekend when a dark car pulled up.
Multiple weapons were involved and possibly multiple gunmen, he said. The shooting “could very well be” related to gang rivalries, he said. At least two gunmen fired more than 30 times into the crowd, sending some people running while others dived behind parked cars for cover until the car sped away.
This was the second major mass shooting in the last year in Trenton, New Jersey’s capital city, which has a population of 80,000. The police said they were exploring the possibility that the gunmen may have been motivated by road rage because witnesses reported that the vehicle’s driver kept honking in heavy traffic just before the shooting.
In June, 22 people were injured after a gunman opened fire during an art festival, striking 17, with the others hurt by being trampled. One person died. But Mr. Gusciora said the shooting might have also stemmed from feuding neighborhood gangs, a continuing source of violence in Trenton, which has a population of 80,000.
A Trenton Police Department spokesman, Capt. Stephen Varn, said that of the five homicides in the city this year, four have come in the past month, including an 18-year-old grandson of a mayoral aide. Sheilah Coley, who has been commanding the city’s police force for less than a month, said at a news conference on Saturday afternoon: “We’re not saying this was road rage. We’re not saying it was retaliation, because the truth of the matter is we just don’t know at this point.”
Of the latest shooting, Captain Varn said, “You have a warm night on the beginning of a holiday weekend, and a large crowd outside, and they end up being a target of opportunity.” The victims included five men and five women, ages 23 to 36. Eight of them remained hospitalized on Saturday evening.
The police on Saturday were still looking for the gunman or gunmen and investigating whether the shooting was gang-related, he said. Investigators have not yet identified the gunmen, but they may have a lead on their vehicle and were still analyzing video footage from the scene, said Ms. Coley, a black woman whose appointment offered hope of diversifying a historically white department policing a mostly black and Hispanic population.
Mr. Gusciora blamed lax federal gun laws for the violent outbursts as well as bars becoming “an easy target” for people intent on settling scores. Mr. Gusciora blamed lax federal gun laws for the violent outbursts.
“We have to address the bar scene in these neighborhoods,” he said, adding that crime in Trenton has declined over the past two years. “New Jersey has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, but guns are easily accessible in some nearby states,” he said. “This is why we need federal solutions to the gun violence epidemic.”
“We’re making progress against violent crime” with the help of a new police director who has increased patrols and community policing, the mayor said. He also said that bars had become “an easy target” for people intent on settling scores. “We have to address the bar scene in these neighborhoods,” he said.
Local gang activity takes the form of rival neighborhood groups, “and this very well could be that,” he said, referring to the shooting. Violent crime in Trenton has declined over the past two years because of increased patrols and community policing, as well as initiatives addressing poverty, unemployment and other societal contributors to street violence, he said.
“We don’t really have traditional gangs. We have neighborhoods that go against other neighborhoods, and it’s that kind of conflict that arises often in the city, and we expect it’s going to continue, especially in the summer months,” he said. “We’re making progress against violent crime,” he said, adding that he had “full confidence” in Ms. Coley as his police director and her initiatives of assigning more road and foot patrols.
Trenton’s industrial history is famously noted on a local bridge with the phrase “Trenton Makes, the World Takes,” but Mr. Gusciora said the city is working to train its youth for modern economic opportunities and is opening a new high school this year to help prepare students for the changing economy. The mayor said that rival neighborhood groups were responsible for much of the violence.
Asked about the shooting on Saturday, Senator Cory Booker cited the availability of illegal guns and the problem that violent crime could pose to economic progress in Trenton. “We don’t really have traditional gangs,” he said. “We have neighborhoods that go against other neighborhoods, and it’s that kind of conflict that arises often in the city, and we expect it’s going to continue, especially in the summer months.”
“I think Trenton has so much of what it needs to thrive, but violence is always going to push away investment, and that’s why to get the kind of support and help they need, to drive down the rates of violence, is critical,” he said. Mr. Gusciora said the city was working to train its youth for modern economic opportunities and opening a new high school to help prepare students for the changing economy.
A city councilman, Jerell Blakeley, said, “Unfortunately, gun violence is all too common on the streets of Trenton.” He called for “all levels of government in Trenton to work together to develop a comprehensive plan to address this scourge.” Asked about the shooting during a presidential campaign stop in Iowa on Saturday, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey cited the availability of illegal guns and the problem that violent crime could pose to economic progress in Trenton.
On Saturday, men played cards at a table set up on the sidewalk near the bar, and a police cruiser was parked nearby. “I think Trenton has so much of what it needs to thrive, but violence is always going to push away investment,” he said. “And that’s why to get the kind of support and help they need, to drive down the rates of violence, is critical,” he said.
Ms. Austin-Granville finished praying and said, “These people need to be caught and they need to be taught.” Councilman Jerell Blakeley said, “Unfortunately, gun violence is all too common on the streets of Trenton.” He called for “all levels of government in Trenton to work together to develop a comprehensive plan to address this scourge.”
Nick Corasaniti, Jon Hurdle and William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting. Mr. Gusciora was also adamant about addressing the violence.
“Trenton cannot become a tale of two cities: one that is moving toward progress in economic development and improvements in education while at the same time an unsafe environment for young people due to gun violence,” he said.
Nick Corasaniti and William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting.