A woman was killed and two men were injured in a drive-by shooting in Trenton. May 25, 2017 (Penny Ray - Trentonian)
The crime scene was so fresh, detectives hadn't yet had the chance to place evidence placards throughout the area.
But the number of bullet holes in the driver's side of a Nissan minivan provided enough proof that tragedy had once again struck the capital city.
A female was killed Thursday afternoon and two men were injured in what appears to be a drive-by shooting. The victims were sitting in the minivan at the time of the incident.
Sources say the woman was shot at least once in the head. One male suffered a gunshot wound to his neck and the other male victim was struck in the buttocks. The severity of the males' injuries are not known at this time.
"It's absolutely insane when you actually hear the shots and the people screaming and crying saying, 'She's dead, she's dead,'" a resident posted on Facebook after news of the shooting spread throughout the city. "It's an unbelievable feeling."
Sources say approximately 10 to 15 rounds were fired from a vehicle as it drove through the 100 block of North Hermitage Avenue around 1:45 p.m.
The aforementioned minivan was parked at the corner of North Hermitage and Boudinot Street while police processed the crime scene; the driver's side window was shattered, presumably by gunfire.
A handicapped placard hung from the minivan's rear view mirror. A cane lied on the ground in a pile of shattered glass next to the vehicle.
“It’s very difficult for us because we’re patrolling so many different areas,” Police Director Ernest Parrey Jr. said at the crime scene as detectives snapped photos of the havoc behind him. “If I had a crystal ball, I'd know where to be at every moment. But we're just trying to stay ahead of the violence with our directed patrols and the assistance we receive from outside agencies. We're trying to keep things manageable.”
The silence throughout the neighborhood after the shooting was a stark contrast to what one witness described as a rapid succession of gunfire. Dozens of residents watched police process the scene Thursday, but the majority of them declined to speak to press or cops in front of others who may have been watching out for “snitches.”
Director Parrey said it takes a village to rein crime in the city’s neighborhoods.
“When they see something, they need to let us know,” Parrey said. “We rely on the community. We don't want to put them in harm’s way. So, any information they may have can be sent to us via My Block, which they can use anonymously.”
This is a developing story.