Prosecutor seeks to try teen as an adult in fatal Jersey City shooting

Authorities say a 16-year-old has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old in Jersey City last week.

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said the 16-year-old Jersey City boy was arrested at a relative’s home and charged in connection with the fatal shooting.

"Due to his age, the 16-year-old was charged as a juvenile with a delinquent act, which if committed by an adult would constitute murder," Suarez said in a statement Sunday.

Authorities say the shooting occurred Tuesday, just before 5 p.m. Jersey City Police Officers were on patrol when observed a large group of people in the area of 176-178 Fulton Ave. People in the group told the officers that someone had been shot in the head, Suarez said. As police approached, they noticed the victim, 17-year-old Rondell Rush, "being placed into a vehicle, which took off from police with individuals stating they had to get him to a hospital," according to the prosecutor.

Authorities say police stopped the vehicle on Martin Luther King Drive, at which time Rush was transported by an ambulance to Jersey City medical Center where he was pronounced dead of an apparent gunshot wound to the head on Wednesday at 1:38 p.m.

The juvenile suspect, whose name is not being released due to his age, is being held in the Union County Detention Center. The prosecutor said she plans to have the juvenile tried as an adult.

“Taking someone’s life in a criminal act is murder regardless of age. My office is prepared to use every prosecutorial tool available to charge this juvenile as an adult,” Suarez said.  “Working with federal, state, and local law enforcement, we will continue to fight to get guns off our streets and out of the hands of criminals.”

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.