$10,000 Reward Offered After Mother, Daughter Targeted In Linden Shooting
LINDEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and indictment after a mother and daughter were shot inside their car Tuesday night in Linden.
Police believe the two were targeted.
The incident happened around 7:15 p.m. on Middlesex Street, police said.
According to witnesses, a man with a dark scarf covering his face walked up to a 41-year-old woman and her 15-year-old daughter as they were getting into their car, police said.
"As the daughter was walking into the passenger's side of the car, she noticed a man approaching her," Linden Police Capt. James Sarnicki told CBS2's Christine Sloan. "Words were exchanged between them and the mother was concerned for the daughter and told her to get in the car."
That's when police said he pulled out a gun and opened fire, shooting them both.
"I heard about eight shots," one neighbor said.
The man then fled on foot, possibly to a vehicle parked down the street. The victims drove their car to the corner of Bower and East Henry streets, where they struck a utility pole.
"I heard the girl in the car scream 'my mother, my mother,' then I heard her on the phone," resident Greg Davis told CBS2's Christine Sloan. "I guess she was dialing 911, telling someone to come here immediately."
The victims were taken to University Hospital in Newark.
The mother suffered gunshot wounds to the torso and pelvic area and is in critical but stable condition. Her daughter was shot in the wrist and grazed in the face. She was treated and released.
The shooting has left some residents on edge.
"It's too close to home now," said resident Sandra Colvin. "I think about my kids. I think about myself, too, because it's not safe around here anymore."
The suspect is described by police as a black man with a heavy or husky-build, 6 feet tall and in his 30s. In addition to the dark scarf wrapped around his face, police said he was wearing a blue or black bubble-type jacket with white lines or white lettering.
It's still unclear what led to the shooting, but police said there is no other danger to the community.
"Our detectives are looking both into the mother and the daughter to see if one or both of them were targeted," Sarnicki said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Linden detectives Ken Mikolajczyk at 908-474-8542 or Steve Zevlikaris at 908-474-8520. Information can also be emailed to crimetips@lpdnj.org.
Anonymous tips can be given by calling Union County Crime Stoppers at 908-654-TIPS (8477) or by texting UCTIP plus a message to 274637 (CRIMES). You can also submit an anonymous tip by clicking here.
