A man died after being shot in a car, which he crashed into this fence on Asbury Street. (Penny Ray - Trentonian)
A broken chain-link fence, yellow chalk circles, crime scene tape and a freshly washed sidewalk: those were the remains of an early morning homicide that ended a two-month span free of murder in the capital city.
"It's like Chicago out here," a city resident said while visiting the scene trying to learn the victim's name less than six hours after the killing. "It's sad."
A man was shot and killed Sunday morning while behind the wheel of an Acura in South Trenton. Sources say the car had a Pennsylvania license plate.
The adult male, whose name has not been released pending family notification, was shot in the unit block of Asbury Street. He then drove the car a few hundred feet before jumping the sidewalk and crashing into a residential fence at the corner of Asbury and Steamboat streets.
The victim suffered multiple gunshot wounds including at least one to the chest, according to officials who say he was pronounced dead at the scene around 4:05 a.m.
"South Trenton is a war zone," a police source said.
Yellow chalk circles on the concrete signified that at least two shell casings, and possibly a third, were found at the scene.
The victim's body remained at the crash site for approximately five hours before being transported to the morgue, allowing fire personnel and crime scene technicians to wash blood off the sidewalk and clean up the street.
With less than two weeks left, so far this year, 22 people have been killed in Trenton, which includes two hit-and-run vehicular homicides.
With the addition of Sunday's slaying, South Trenton has seen a lot of violence and criminal activity this year, including at least six murders: Robert Powell Jr. was killed during a 35-hour standoff on Centre Street in May; Brenda Garzio was stabbed to death on South Broad Street later that month; Kyler Bragg was shot and killed near the intersection of Division and Hewitt streets in July and Anthony Flowers was killed on Lamberton Street in September, about five hours before Shawn Harrell was murdered near the intersection of Daymond and Bridge streets.
Not to mention the "suspicious death" of Lillian Duran, whose body was found wrapped in a trash bag on the side of Lamberton Street in September. A medical examiner ruled Duran's death inconclusive, but law enforcement sources who spoke on condition of anonymity believe she died from a drug overdose after being forced to take a "hot bag" of dope. Investigators believe her body was dumped on the side of the road as a warning to others.
The Mercer County Homicide Task Force is investigating Sunday's killing. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call (609) 989-6406. Or use the Trenton Police Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.
A man died after being shot in a car, which then jumped the sidewalk and traveled between this fence and tree before crashing early Sunday morning. (Penny Ray - Trentonian)
A man died after being shot in a car, which he crashed into this fence early Sunday morning. (Penny Ray - Trentonian)