2 killed in hail of bullets in New Brunswick remembered as rising star, loving dad

NEW BRUNSWICK — Loved ones and fans have been mourning a city man, described as a rising star, one of two people killed in a chaotic shooting early Sunday.

The other was remembered as a loving father and a "very spirited producer" who'd just celebrated his 23rd birthday.

Lionel Macauley, a 28-year-old self-billed actor, film producer and spoken word artist, was being remembered on Instagram Monday by a number of followers. Others posted comments of shock and condolences to Macauley's Facebook page.

According to The Franklin Reporter & Advocate, Macauley was a graduate of Franklin High School's Class of 2010.

The incident before 1:20 a.m. Sunday involved a hail of bullets fired in the area of 32 Delafield Street, leaving seven people injured and two dead, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and New Brunswick Police Director Anthony Caputo have said.

The count of surviving injured people had originally been six, but another victim came forward Monday, the authorities said.

Late Monday afternoon, authorities confirmed Macauley's identity, as well as that of the other man killed in the shooting, Anthony Robinson 23, of New Brunswick. They haven't released the names of the other individuals shot.

Robinson, in a GoFundMe fundraiser, was described as a "wonderful father to his 2-year-old daughter. He would do anything for his family and his friends." The page said he'd spent the day leading up to the night he was shot celebrating his 23rd birthday. The page said he was a producer.

"His life was cut too short and he was *taken) from his family and friends due to gun violence," the page reads. "He didn’t have any problems with anyone."

Four victims remained hospitalized Monday. Of those, three were in stable condition and one was in serious/critical condition, law enforcement said. The person who came forward Monday sustained minor injuries and did not require hospitalization, they said.

ABC News reported that surveillance video of the shooting from a neighboring home appears to show a vehicle pull up outside a home where a party was being held. The video then shows four individuals get out of the vehicle with weapons drawn, as shots are fired numerous times.

Ciccone previously said on Sunday afternoon that the violence did not appear to have any affiliation with Rutgers University or its students.

The Sunday morning shooting happened less than half a mile from the school's College Avenue Student Center, and two blocks from a stretch of Easton Avenue that is popular with students for its takeout food options.