Police Searching For Suspect In Deadly Shooting At New Jersey Gas Station
EDISON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – A gas station clerk was shot and killed early Thursday morning in New Jersey, and police are still on the hunt for the gunman who opened fire.
The violence erupted around 4 a.m. at the Speedway gas station on Amboy Avenue in Edison. The Middlesex County prosecutor says a man wearing a mask walked into the store and pointed a handgun at the clerk, identified as 38-year-old John Bertram.
Bertram handed over the cash register, authorities say the suspect shot him anyway. Medics arrived and pronounced the clerk dead at the scene.
Another employee inside the store was not hurt.
Watch: Middlesex County Prosecutor On Edison Shooting
"My thoughts and prayers, and those of the Edison community, are with the victim's family," Mayor Thomas Lankey said in a statement. "I have confidence in our police department's investigative capabilities – working alongside county prosecutor's detectives – to find and bring the perpetrator of this heinous crime to justice.
"It's a sad day in Edison when a store clerk gets shot trying to make a living," said Councilman Joe Coyle.
Gail Milano told CBS2's Tara Jakeway he's worked at the dental office across the street for 30 years.
"I've been in this Speedway many times to just go and get some snacks for the office," she said. "It's horrible. From what I understand is, he's still on the loose. I'm kind of afraid to go to work today."
Police in Perth Amboy initially said they helped arrest an 18-year-old man in connection to the deadly robbery-gone-wrong. Authorities in Middlesex County and Edison later said that was incorrect, and while that person was questioned regarding the shooting he was not charged and has since been released.
Investigators say the suspect remains at large. He's described as a having a slight build, and was last seen wearing light colored pants, a maroon colored hooded sweatshirt, a mask, and gloves.
Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Loren Long of the Edison Police Department at (732) 248-7531 or Detective David Abromaitis of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at (732)745- 4436.
