Investigators say a man who was shot and beaten before being run over by his own car at an apartment complex in Ewing on Thursday had been carjacked just minutes before he was killed.

Jared Littlejohn
Jared Littlejohn (Mercer County Prosecutor's Office)
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But it's still not clear why the assailants killed Jared Littlejohn, a 22-year-old Trenton resident, or if he was targeted. And a cause of death has not been determined.

Authorities say Littlejohn was in a supermarket parking lot when he was carjacked around 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon. His assailants then drove him to the nearby Ewing complex, where he was pushed from the vehicle and beaten before being shot.

The assailants then drove off in Littlejohn's car, running him over as they left. Authorities say the car had not been located as of early Saturday.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.

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