State Police: 2 Children Dead, Woman And Boy Injured In NJ Home Shooting
TABERNACLE, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A shooting at a home in southern New Jersey left two children dead and a woman and another child wounded, and police Thursday night were trying to determine who pulled the trigger.
As CBS2's Christine Sloan reported, New Jersey State Police received a report of multiple shootings in the home on Holly Park Drive in Tabernacle after 9 a.m. Thursday, Trooper Alina Spies said.
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When police arrived at the home, they found a boy and a girl shot dead.
Two others, a woman identified as Jeaninne LePage, 44, and a boy were also shot. They were taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden where they were listed in critical condition, police said.
Investigators said during a news conference Thursday afternoon that they believe LePage is the mother of the three children who were shot.
According to investigators, the LePage suffered a gunshot wound to the head. All four were shot with the same handgun, which was found at the scene, police said. All four were also found in the same room.
"We found a really horrific scene, and since that time, investigators and troopers together have been working at that site," said State Police spokesman Capt. Stephen Jones. "They'll be there for quite a long time.
The shootings occurred sometime between the overnight and 9 a.m., Jones said.
Capt. Geoff Noble said there was no ongoing manhunt Thursday, but the case was being handled as a homicide investigation, 1010 WINS' Rebecca Granet reported.
State Police: 2 Children Dead, Woman And Boy Injured In NJ Home Shooting
The names and specific ages of all the victims have not been released, but officials said the children are school-aged, ranging from middle school to early high school.
Neighbors said two different families live in the house on Holly Park Drive. Police said there were two other adults in the home when the tragedy happened, but no one heard anything.
Neighbors told KYW-TV, CBS3 in Philadelphia, that they were shocked by the tragic news.
"This is a very quiet street. We've lived her for 30-some years and never had any problems," neighbor Jeanette Salvatore said.
Salvatore said her grandchildren played with some of the victims in the past.
Neighbor Kim Kniffin's son goes to nearby Seneca High School. She says the district quickly sent out an email, telling parents that no students were ever in any danger.
"He said the police contacted the school and they're not in lockdown."
A few dozen gathered in the cold Thursday night as emotions poured through at a vigil for those who died.
"Her kids called me their second mother and I'm just devastated and shocked," said Monique Currier.
Patrick Hines knows one of the young victims.
"He was one of my best friends. I still don't really know what to think," said Hines.
Even the youngest weren't spared the pain. This little girl is friends with another one of the children.
"She was a very, very good friend," she said.
A community rallied around a message of hope.
"There's light in the midst of darkness and light does win, and it always wins," a man said.
The Burlington County community of Tabernacle is located in the sparsely populated New Jersey Pinelands, about 30 miles east of Philadelphia.
State Police and the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office are investigating. They said they have not ruled out the possibility that the woman believed to be the mother was the shooter.
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