Cranford man charged with attempted murder after Route 1 shooting

A Cranford man is charged with attempted murder after a double shooting over the weekend along Routes 1 and 9 in Union County.

Andrew C. Johnson, 50, is charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder and four related weapons offenses, Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay Ruotolo and Linden Police Chief David Hart said in a joint press release Monday.

Linden Police responded Sunday before 9:40 a.m. to a report of shots fired in the northbound lanes of the highway near Avenue C and found two men, ages 50 and 64, inside a vehicle stopped on the highway, according to the prosecutor's office.

The men, both Elizabeth residents, were taken to University Hospital in Newark for treatment of serious injuries, Linden Police said.

Shortly after the men with gunshot wounds were found, responding officers also caught up to Johnson inside his vehicle along the same highway in Elizabeth, and he was taken into custody along with a defaced handgun, according to Ruotolo and Hart.

They didn't say how Johnson was identified as a suspect, or further describe his apprehension. They also didn't say what evidence they had that he'd committed the shooting, what's believed to have prompted it, or if he had any known relationship to the other men.

Johnson was taken to Union County Jail, pending a first appearance and detention hearing this week in Superior Court.

Anyone with information about the shooting can contact Linden Police Department Detective Juan Velarde at 908-474-8552, Prosecutor’s Office Detective Brandon Lorenz at 908-337-3230 or Prosecutor’s Office Sgt. Danika Ramos at 908-451-7739.

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