6 shot in Trenton, one fatally, cops say

TRENTON — The holiday weekend in this city started with a drive-by shooting that injured nine. It ended with another six people being shot at, including one who died, on Monday night.

Trenton Police Capt. Stephen Varn said shots were fired around 11:30 p.m. on the 100 block of Walnut Avenue.

Responding officers from Trenton police found a male with multiple gunshot wounds to the head, shoulder and forearm unresponsive on the ground, according to Casey Deblasio, spokeswoman Mercer County, later identified as Unique Anderson, 18, of Trenton. He was pronounced dead a short time later at a hospital.

Five other gunshot victims were identified by Deblasio as a 22-year-old male from Trenton, a 20-year-old male from Edgewater Park, a 20-year-old female from Trenton, a 19-year-old male from Trenton and a 18-year-old male from Hamilton.

DeBlasio said it wasn't clear from where the shots were fired and remained under investigation.

A witness told Fox 29 she heard at least 30 shots fired and thought they were fireworks. She said she saw the deceased, a 20 year old known an “Boogie” laying on the ground in front of her house. She said "Boogie" had a 7-month old child and was a “nice kid.”

A picture tweeted from the shooting scene by NBC Philadelphia reported Miguel Martinez-Valle showed a sheet with "Long live Boogie" spray painted on it hung outside a home on Walnut Avenue signed by several other people.

Nine people continued to recover from a shooting early Saturday morning outside Ramoneros Liquor & Bar on Brunswick Avenue that injured five men and four women. Trenton police said no arrests have yet been made in the case.

The gunmen in that earlier case fired at least 30 rounds, but officials were at a loss as to what motivated the shooting. Mayor Reed Gusciora suggested that it could have been a neighborhood gang rivalry that erupted at a bar where rival factions sometimes co-mingle. But Police Director Sheilah Coley said it also could have been a road rage incident, citing witnesses who stated that before the gunfire erupted, the driver had been leaning on his horn.

DeBlasio said a motivation for the Walnut Avenue shooting remained under investigation but said there is no information at this time that suggests it is related to Saturday morning’s shooting.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

More from New Jersey 101.5