The Trenton Times published the following article on June 13, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Five people shot in Trenton in 24 hours, police say

By Alex Zdan/The Times 
on June 13, 2013 at 9:24 PM, updated June 14, 2013 at 1:51 AM

TRENTON — A 19-year-old city man was clinging to life on a ventilator tonight after being shot in the chest and head in the West Ward early today, police said.

He was the fifth person shot in the city during a period of 24 hours beginning late Tuesday night. Though one arrest had been made, detectives were still investigating the other incidents.

“We’re working hard on solving these crimes,” said Lt. Mark Kieffer, a police spokesman.

The 19-year-old, who remained at Capital Health Regional Medical Center last night, was a passenger in a car being driven on the 100 block of Passaic Street around 12:15 a.m. today when “numerous shots rang out,” Kieffer said.

The driver of the car sped to Rowan Towers on the 600 block of West State Street, where he knew police officers worked off-duty security. Officer James Mack radioed in the shooting and called for an ambulance, Kieffer said.

The spate of violence started around 11:50 p.m. Tuesday, when Officers Wilfredo Delgado and Aaron Bernstein heard gunshots while patrolling on the 200 block of Perry Street. As Delgado and Bernstein drove down the street, they saw a 24-year-old city man stumble into the middle of the roadway, shot in the chest. At the same time, another man began running away, Kieffer said.

Delgado and Bernstein gave chase as the man started jumping fences to escape the officers. The suspect ran back around to the 200 block of Perry Street and ducked inside a house, where police cornered and arrested him.

Around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, a man walking on Chambers Street near Greenwood Avenue was accosted by an armed man. The victim was shot in the side of his lower back as he passed in front of the Lukoil gas station, Kieffer said. A good Samaritan circled around the block, waiting for the gunman to leave, before he took the victim to the hospital.

And on Wednesday night, two men were wounded in a shooting on Stuyvesant Avenue, police said. The city residents, both 22 years old, were walking on the 800 block of Stuyvesant around 9:45 p.m. when shots rang out. One was struck twice in the upper left arm, the other was hit in the upper right arm.

The victim hit in the upper left arm said he took a taxi to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, while the other victim went to the former Mercer hospital campus on Bellevue Avenue and was later transferred to the medical center.

Anyone with information on these crimes should call police at (609) 989-4170, or the Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.

Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.