Prosecutor: 3 North Plainfield, NJ shooting victims were cousins

NORTH PLAINFIELD — Authorities have identified two cousins, a teen and adult, killed in a triple shooting on Friday night.

Steven Jimenez, 14, and 31-year-old Christian Orellana were both gunned down on the patio outside a third cousin's apartment around 8 p.m., according to Somerset County Prosecutor Michael Robertson.

Jimenez and Orellana lived at the same residence on West 4th Street in Plainfield, he said on Monday.

The other person shot, a 28-year-old man, remained in critical condition after undergoing emergency surgery. Other than his relationship to his cousins, his identity was not publicly disclosed.

The Medical Examiner has confirmed both deaths as homicide.

A motive and possible description of the shooter or shooters at the Malcolm Gardens Apartment Complex remained under investigation.

Anyone with information relating to the investigation can contact the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office 908-231-7100 or North Plainfield Police at 908-769-2937.

Potential tips, including videos and photos, also can be shared anonymously via the STOPit app, or through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477).

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