Five shot, two dead in Paterson, NJ shooting

🔴 Two men were taken to a hospital, three other victims transported themselves

🔴 The victims' ages range from 17 to 26 years old

🔴 The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office is investigating

PATERSON — Five people were shot with two dead in an early morning shooting to cap a violent holiday period in New Jersey

Paterson police found two males from Paterson, ages 17 and 26, with severe injuries from multiple gunshot wounds around 2:40 a.m. Wednesday on Jersey Avenue at Oliver Street, according to Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes. They were taken to St. Joseph's University Medical Center where they were pronounced dead.

Two other Paterson men, ages 19 and 24, brought themselves to St. Joseph's with gunshot wounds while another 19-year-old man from Paterson was treated at Hackensack University Medical Center.

Valdes did not disclose the identities of anyone involved in the shooting or a possible motive and said the investigation is active and ongoing.

The prosecutor asked anyone with information about the shooting to call the office's tips line at 1-877-370-PCPO (7276).

Attorney General Matthew Platkin, whose office is currently running the Paterson police department, vowed to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

"And make no mistake, we will bring them to justice - we must also continue our work to prevent and heal the trauma brought upon our communities as a result of gun violence," Platkin said in a statement.

Platkin also made note of violence around the country over the weekend including four people fatally shot in Philadelphia.

"The Office of the Attorney General - and the New Jersey Law Enforcement community more broadly - will not rest until our residents can live their lives free of the threat of gun violence erupting in our neighborhoods, in our houses of worship, in our schools, in our shopping centers, at our family celebrations, and everywhere else that we gather to go about our everyday lives," Platkin said. "The people of this state - and our nation - deserve better and I will continue to use every resource and authority of my office to deliver for them."

Holiday violence in New Jersey

One person was killed and two injured in a drive-by shooting Monday night at the Asbury Park Gardens apartment building on Atlantic Avenue in Asbury Park, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago.

Police were called to the building around 10:30 p.m. and found the injured men who were taken to a hospital. One of the men was pronounced dead while the other two suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to Santiago.

An 18-year-old Egg Harbor Township man was hospitalized Monday evening after being stabbed while standing with a friend on Adriatic Avenue near the Stanley S. Holmes Village housing units in Atlantic City around 6:15 p.m.

Atlantic City police said Tyler Smith, 38, of Atlantic City walked up to the victim and questioned why white people were allowed in the neighborhood before stabbing the victim.

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