A Jersey City man driving on Rts. 1&9 in South Kearny Jan. 16 was shot behind his ear, unexpectedly, and Kearny police are trying to determine how and why the incident happened.
According to Capt. Timothy Wagner, the Kearny PD’s public-information officer, that day, at 6:29 p.m., Kearny officers were dispatched to a 911 call reporting a shooting on 1&9 near the Passaic River Bridge. Kearny officers arrived to find Jersey City police already at the scene as the 911 call was reportedly initially routed to bordering Jersey City instead of Kearny.
The victim had already been rushed to Jersey City Medical Center by EMS for treatment.
A preliminary investigation indicates a 43-year-old Jersey City man was driving a Ford Explorer SUV southbound on Truck Rts. 1&9 with his 40-year-old wife in the passenger seat when he was struck by a projectile that entered through the vehicle’s tailgate and struck him near the ear.
It is unclear what, if anything, precipitated the shooting.
The victim was reported to have sustained a non-life-threatening injury, but was still admitted to the Jerey City MC for observation.
The incident is being investigated by Det. Frank West, who may be reached by telephone at (201) 998-1313, ext. 2855. Members of the public may also email information in confidence to tips@kearnynjpd.org. Be sure to reference case No. 23-02412.
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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.