Journalist from NJ describes being in fatal Ukraine shooting

One of the U.S. journalists who was reportedly attacked by Russian forces in Ukraine was from New Jersey.

Juan Arredondo was riding in a car with video journalist Brent Renaud when they came under fire near a checkpoint near the Ukrainian capital. Ukrainian military officials blamed Russian forces for the shooting.

Renaud was shot in the neck and killed. Arredondo was evacuated to a hospital in Kyiv.

Arredondo was born in Englewood and attended Rutgers University. He graduated in 2001 with a degree in chemistry and then worked at Merk in Rahway.

He left that job, he says, to pursue his passion for journalism.

In a video posted by CNN, Arrendondo describes what happened.

"We crossed a checkpoint and they started shooting at us," he said.

Lying on his side as a medical worker tends to his wounds, Arrendondo says he was with his friend Brent Renaud and that Renaud was "shot and left behind." He did not seem to know at the time that his friend was dead.

Arrendondo says he saw Renaud get shot in the neck.

"We got split, and I got to the hospital," he said.

Describing himself on his website as Colombian American, Arrendondo says he spent time growing up in Columbia.

A New York Times spokesperson told the Associated Press that Renaud, 50, was a “talented filmmaker who had contributed to The New York Times over the years.” It said he was not working for the publication at the time of his death.

He had recently participated in an online masterclass for National Geographic on photography.

When asked about the incident involving Renaud and Arrendondo, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS News that the U.S. government would be consulting with the Ukrainians to determine how this happened and would then “execute appropriate consequences.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The headline on a previous version of this story confused the identities of the victims.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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