Multiple Gunshots At Lakewood, New Jersey Party Injures 4

Multiple shots rang out a party at the Brook Road Sports Complex in Lakewood, Ocean County, New Jersey, at 10 p.m. local time (12 a.m. EDT) Sunday. At least four people present at the party sustained serious injuries.

Detectives from Lakewood’s Detective Bureau, Street Crimes units, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department have arrived on the scene and are assisted by K9, CSI, and the Ocean County Prosecutors Office. The emergency medical staff was also rushed to the scene.

“I can confirm that we are actively investigating the shooting of four victims who were in attendance at a party at the Brook Road Sports Complex,” Detective Lieutenant Greg Staffordsmith said, local news outlet The Lakewood Scoop reported.

Two victims were reportedly airlifted from the scene, while two others themselves drove to the hospital. Paramedics are treating multiple gunshot victims for injuries to the chest, arms, and legs, according to authorities. There have been no reported fatalities.

Staffordsmith also added that none of the victims were in a fatal condition. “Although the victims have suffered serious injuries, they are not believed to be life threatening,” he said.

Three people have been arrested on the scene, although detectives have refrained from revealing if they are connected to the shootings. Officers are currently interrogating possible witnesses to the shooting, such as bikers who might have been in the vicinity of the scene, App reported.

The area where the shooting occurred is a municipal-owned Frank Bartolf Sports Complex on Brook Road. It includes a Little League field, a playground, a football field, two soccer fields and a picnic area.

According to NJ, Lakewood is one of the fastest growing towns in New Jersey as well as the most controversial town of the state. It is home to Beth Medrash Govoha, one of the biggest Yeshivas in the world with 6,500 students.

"It's probably the most attractive place in the United States today for a young Orthodox Jewish family," said Rabbi Aaron Kotler, one of the leaders of the Orthodox community. "That's a phenomenon that certainly didn't exist when I was growing up, 20 or 30 years ago. But it's a reality today."

In July, 26 members New Jersey’s Orthodox community were accused faking their income in order to collect more than $2 million in public assistance.

Also, there have been quite a few instances of shootings in New Jersey in the last few months. A shooting near Lincoln Park and Pennsylvania Avenue, Newark, on July 1 left two people dead and a couple of others injured, according to Essex County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Katherine Carter, NJ reported.

In another shooting at the Loop Inn Motel in the Avenel section of Woodbridge, on June 21, one man was killed and another was rushed to the University Hospital in Newark in a critical condition.