Shooting victim dies, mayor urges vigilance for all residents
TRENTON » No one is safe in the capital city, not even outside their homes.
Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora on Sunday called on residents to be “vigilant of their surroundings” after a New Jersey state employee died after being shot while taking a call from a client on her front porch, officials confirmed.
Vernetta McCray, who worked for the Department of Children and Families, was killed following a drive-by shooting Friday night on the 100 block of Hampton Avenue.
Sources told The Trentonian the woman was talking on the phone with a client on her porch when as many as 23 rounds were fired, striking the woman at least once.
“People should remain vigilant of their surroundings and avoid areas where criminal activity is taking place,” Gusciora said. “They should also avoid going out at late hours of the night.”
Blaming the COVID-19 for the spike in crime, the capital city leader added parents needed to “take an active role in their children’s lives, providing them guidance to avoid gang initiation. We also need the schools to better identify troubled youth and reengage them in sports or other extracurricular activities, especially during this pandemic. We hope that with some return to normalcy, we will got back to better public safety levels.”
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the death of the 39-year-old McCray, who was kept on life support long enough for doctors to harvest her organs.
“Something like this never has to happen. This is a senseless act of violence and the violence needs to stop,” Tawanna Simmons, McCray’s aunt, told ABC 6. “There are so many things going on in the world today and this is the last thing that we need to see.”
The Trentonian has reached out to one of McCray’s family members and was waiting to hear back.
McCray was a dedicated public servant who worked for DCF for over a decade, Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement before the woman’s death.
“Vernetta McCray has worked for the Department of Children and Families for over a decade,” Murphy said in a press statement late Saturday, “gaining the respect of her colleagues and serving countless children and families in Mercer
County. This tragedy is yet another reminder of the toll that senseless gun violence takes on our communities. Our prayers are with Vernetta, her family, and her loved ones at this difficult time.”
The governor’s office referred back to Murphy’s statement when asked for additional comment on McCray’s death.
At-large councilman Jerell Blakeley said on Facebook that McCray was “minding her business” when she was shot.
“This is a new low from these criminal savage shooters who continue to bring their evil to the streets of Trenton, without a regard for person or property,” he said. “There is no excuse for this wanton violence that leaves innocent Trentonians as prisoners in their own homes.”
A woman who worked with McCray remembered her as a “true angel.”
“Your first day in intake, I took you out in the field with me and several times after that” Miya Bush wrote in a Facebook tribute. “You were a bundle of laughs! Going to miss talking to you every Sunday morning (as I give u a referral)! You did not deserve this!”
For months, community activists have warned that Trenton could see recordsetting bloodshed in 2020 unless officials intervened to stop the bloodshed.
The capital city surpassed the homicide totals over the last two years. The murder record, set in 2013, is 37.
Gusciora and Trenton Police Director Sheilah Coley have pushed for more cops on the streets and are hoping that a $4.5 million State Police realcrime center will help the capital city demystify the gunplay.
At least 11 of the killings involved personal disputes, Coley previously said.
It was unclear the motive in McCray’s death, but sources said she was an innocent bystander caught up in the crossfire.
No arrests have been announced in her death, the city’s 26th killing of the year.
The Trentonian pressed Gusciora after he suggested it was up to residents to avoid crime hotspots and going out late, pointing out that
McCray was outside her home.
“She lived in a neighborhood with many challenges,” Gusciora said. “Vernetta loved her home and wanted to stay. No one should have to live in fear of their lives. We hope residents speak out about criminal activity in their neighborhoods. Too many close their eyes to violence. We desperately need their help to solve these crimes. Law enforcement cannot do it alone.”