2 Arrested After Man Killed, 10-Year-Old Girl Hurt In Jersey City Shooting
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Two men have been arrested in connection with a double shooting that left one man dead and a 10-year-old girl seriously injured.
The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office confirmed the arrests Monday on Twitter. No other details about the suspects have been released.
The mayor's office said two guns were also recovered on one of the men.
As CBS2's Raegan Medgie reported, the girl's family wants the gun violence to stop.
"There's enough violence going on. We killing each other, now we hitting babies too," Claire Bethea said.
Rayana Phillips was sitting in the back seat of her mom's car next to her 2-year-old sister when gunfire erupted.
The shooting happened around 10 p.m. Sunday at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Van Nostrand Avenue. Residents said two men on bicycles wearing masks pedaled by the area and opened fire, 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reported.
The girl's mother told Medgie she went into a deli to get French fries for her daughter when all of a sudden she heard some shots.
"I thought my child was dead in the car. I didn't turn around, I thought both my kids was dead. I told them to duck, but didn't hear anything," the girls' mother Rasheda Albright said.
That's when the mother saw there was a gunshot wound to her little girl's body, Medgie reported.
Jimmy Gregory, 19, of Jersey City was shot in the upper body and killed. Rayana of East Orange, was struck in the stomach.
"When I turned around I just see my daughter say, 'my back, my back,' I said, 'I'm gonna check you,' she turned around, and I see the hole," Rasheda said.
Police say officers in plain clothes were nearby when the shooting happened and were able to chase down the suspects. Cops recovered two handguns.
Rayana was rushed to Jersey City Medical Center, and taken into surgery. She's said to be in good spirits.
Her mother and grandmother said they've had enough.
"It don't make no sense. The gun violence has to stop because every child belongs to somebody, whether bad or good, every child belongs to somebody. It has to stop," Bethea said.
Mayor Steven Fulop said he visited the girl in the hospital and agrees that something must be done.
"It is a major problem in cities across this country with young people having access to guns and shooting each other," he said.
The prosecutors office said the suspects are Corey Pickett, 21, and Jonathan Ferrera, 21. Both are from Jersey City, and are being charged with murder.
The mayor said they will discuss a community outreach program aimed at targeting the roots of violence at the next city council meeting.
