Suspect killed, 22 injured as violence, gunfire erupts at New Jersey arts festival

A suspect was killed and nearly two dozen people were injured after a fight led to gunfire early Sunday during an all-night art festival in Trenton, New Jersey.

Seventeen of the 22 people who were injured were treated for gunshot wounds at nearby hospitals, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said at a news conference.

Four people are in critical condition, including a 13-year-old boy who is in "extremely critical condition," Onofri told reporters.

Are there other suspects?

Police identified two suspects in connection with the shooting. One, a 33-year-old man, was killed. Onofri said an investigation is underway to determine if the suspect was shot and killed by police or someone else. Trenton police at the scene reported that officers engaged with at least one gunman.

The other suspect was taken into police custody. “Multiple weapons” were recovered from the scene and police are working to determine if any other people were involved, according to Fox News.

"It's a massive crime scene," Onofri said.

Gunfire broke out shortly before 2:45 a.m. at the 24-hour Art All Night show the Roebling Market area, according to Onofri.

About 1,000 people were in the area when the shooting began and people stampeded from the area. Thousands of people typically attend the festival, which features local art, music and food.

Witness Franco Roberts told The Trentonian he saw several punches being thrown in a fight before the gunshots rang out.

“Everybody ran toward the door,” Roberts said. “And the people fighting and shooting got mixed with the crowd that was running and they went out the door shooting.”

Angelo Nicolo told WPVI-TV he was at the event with his brother when they heard loud popping sounds, and people started running down the street.

"And all of a sudden, my brother goes to me, 'You hear that gunfire?' I go, 'It sounds like fireworks.' He said, 'No, that's gunfire.' Next thing you know, we turn around and everybody's running down the street. All hell broke loose," Nicolo said.

Following the shooting, organizers cancelled the remainder of the event.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting in the investigation with Trenton and New Jersey State Police.

Anything else?

An attempted carjacking also happened shortly after the shooting, according to Onofri. A man pointed a gun at three who were seated in a vehicle. Onofri said their vehicle sustained "some damage" but he did not release additional details.