VIOLENT NIGHT
Four teens injured, one ‘gravely’ in late-night shootout in Trenton
TRENTON » Four teens were shot Tuesday night during what appears to have been a shootout.
Among them, a 15-yearold male was shot in the leg and head, and officials describe his health condition as “gravely serious.”
The shooting happened around 9:45 p.m. near the intersection of Division and Hewitt streets, but the crime scene spanned a few blocks. Police sources say preliminary evidence implies the incident was a shootout between rival groups.
“They may have been shooting back and forth,” said a source who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the matter.
In addition to the teen who was shot in the head, a 16-year-old male suffered a gunshot wound to the arm, a 16-year-old female was struck in the shoulder and back, and a 16-year-old male was shot in the thigh. They were all rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.
Through Wednesday afternoon, police were still not quite certain how far the crime scene extended outward from the Division and Hewitt intersection, but one source described it as “large.” More than a dozen shell casings littered the street and sidewalk.
But the chaos didn’t end there. While police were investigating the shooting Tuesday night, fire officials were dispatched to extinguish a blaze near the intersection of Chestnut Avenue and Hewitt Street.
“A person was injured in a house fire and there was some confusion surrounding the circumstances Tuesday night,” Lt. Stephen Varn said. “For some reason they thought his injuries were related to the shooting but they weren’t.”
Varn said the man suffered smoke inhalation as well as burns to his hand and arm. He was later transferred to Temple University Hospital and he is expected to survive.
As of press time Wednesday, the 15-year-old male remains hospitalized in extremely critical condition. The other three shooting victims are expected to survive.
The Mercer County Homicide Task Force is investigating the shooting. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call (609) 989-6406 or the Trenton Crime Stoppers tip line at (609) 278-8477.