Teen girl shot dead inside NJ home; juvenile charged

🚨 Teen girl killed in New Brunswick shooting

🚨 Victim identified by her mother as 16-year-old Jazariah Del Toro

🚨 The victim and suspect knew each other, investigators say

NEW BRUNSWICK — A teenage boy fatally shot a 16-year-old girl inside a city residence on Tuesday afternoon, according to officials.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Linda Estremera said police went to a home on Lawrence Street after gunshots were heard around 2:30 p.m. A teen with a gunshot wound was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

A 16-year-old from the Mays Landing section of Hamilton was charged as a juvenile with aggravated manslaughter, unlawful possession of a handgun, and possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose.

Estremera said the teens knew each other, but she did not disclose the nature of their relationship.

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Family describes ‘a beautiful smile’

A GoFundMe campaign says the victim was her daughter Jazariah Del Toro.

"She had a beautiful smile that lit up the world lit up a room. She was a track runner. She was a great kid and did not deserve to have her life taken from her so soon," the campaign creator said on GoFundMe, adding that her family now had to move from the home that had become a homicide scene.

Donations will go toward her daughter's funeral and to finding a new home.

New Brunswick High School principal Dr. Cory Fields offered her condolences and said school-based counselors and mental health staff were available for students.

A black balloon release in her honor is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at 15 John St.

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