Gunman shot at man and woman in car, then chased the woman, cops say

ABERDEEN — Police say a man walked up to a car and opened fire at a man and a woman inside — then chased the woman and tried to shoot her again before they both got away.

Tennyson D. Fairclough, 37 — who faces charges of attempted murder and weapons offenses — knew the woman, police said. But police haven't said what prompted the shooting.

If convicted, he could face as many as 20 years in prison on each of the two attempted murder charges. He could face another 10 years for each second-degree charge of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, and certain persons not to possess a weapon.

According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, township police responded to a report of shots fired at a Masonic Lodge around 9:53 p.m. Thursday. Officers couldn't find a victim at first, but a local hospital notified police that a gunshot victim was being treated at their facility, the prosecutor's office said.

That victim — the man from the car — had non-life-threatening injuries and was released, police said.

Police spoke to that man and determined through the "ensuing investigation" that Fairclough had approached the car and began firing a handgun, striking the man, the prosecutor's office said. It didn't say how Fairclough was identified as the assailant.

Both the man and the woman fled, and the man went to the hospital, the prosecutor's office said. Fairclough continued to pursue the woman, attempting to shoot her again, but she escaped uninjured, the prosecutor's office said. Fairclough fled the area, it said.

It wasn't clear from the announcement of Fairclough's arrest how the woman got away, or if police have been in touch with her.

Fairclough is currently being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in lieu of $1.5 million bail, with no option to post 10 percent.