KEARNY —
A 16-year-old Kearny High School student was shot in the head and died from those wounds in her Belgrove Drive Home Thursday night, according to reports.
The victim was identified as Alishia Colon, according to reports.
Reports say Colon recently turned 16.
A fight took place earlier yesterday in the area of the shooting involving some of the victim’s relatives, according to the HCPO. The HCPO says it is trying to determine whether there is a connection to the incident and the shooting.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office says that around 6:20 p.m. last night, Kearny police were called to 253 Belgrove Drive — and when they arrived, police found Colon dead in her bedroom.
Reports also say a 37-year-old Belleville man — identified as Edwin Mendez Jr. — was arrested in relation to the fight and charged with unlawful possession of a gun and making terroristic threats. It’s not immediately clear whether there is a connection to the shooting, however.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s office is working with the Kearny Police Department on the investigation. Neither a suspect nor motive have yet been identified, the prosecutor’s office says.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the prosecutor’s office at 201-915-1345 or send an e-mail to hcpotips@hcpo.org. All reports are kept confidential.
Mayor Alberto G. Santos released the following statement earlier today:
“The Kearny Police Department is diligently working with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in the homicide investigation. We are utilizing all available resources to apprehend the individual responsible for this tragic death. We will leave no stone unturned until we bring this individual to justice.
“The Township of Kearny would like reassure its residents that their safety is paramount and that is why increased police patrols have been implemented. We would like everyone to understand that this is an isolated incident.
“The Township of Kearny and I would like to express our deepest sympathies to the family of the young victim.
“If any resident has any questions concerning safety issues they can call the mayor’s office or the Kearny Police Department.”
Please check back with The Observer for updates to this story. We’ll update our website as soon as more details are available.
Learn more about the writer ...
Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.