Police: 3 Shot At Funeral In Trenton
By Mark Abrams and Cleve Bryan
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) – Three people were shot and one person is in custody in Trenton where gunfire rang out Tuesday afternoon at the funeral for a homicide victim who died last week.
Trenton police say it happened at the Galilee Baptist Church along Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard.
"It was just chaotic, people were screaming, hollering," Leslie Wilborn said.
She was inside the church for the funeral of family friend Cagney Roberts when she says gunfire broke out during the pastor's sermon.
"The people around me I just said get down and I heard other people saying the same thing and then everybody started getting under the pews," Wilborn said.
Witnesses said many mourners inside the church fell to the floor or ran for the doors when they heard shots.
Investigators report the gunfire apparently erupted shortly after noon and two men were hit and a woman was grazed. The two men are reported to be in stable condition at a nearby hospital.
Another person reportedly suffered a seizure during the incident, while another person was trampled.
Police say shots were definitely fired outside the church but they can't say for certain about what happened inside.
A police official says they were able to capture one man quickly from inside of a car and they recovered at least five guns from the scene.
"We did recover five weapons. There was one that was inside the church, three that were in the lot that's adjacent to the church and one suspect was arrested with a weapon," Director Ralph Rivera of Trenton Police Department said.
Trenton police officers were at Roberts' funeral when the shootings happened. The 19-year-old was gunned down during a drive by shooting on April 9th.
There has not been an arrest in that case and police don't know if today's violent outbreak is connected.
"We did notice a large gathering of youth wearing purple and white, we're still trying to determine what that represents," Rivera said.
"It's horrible when you don't have respect for the house of God," Wilborn said.
Information about the man in custody is not being released at this time.
State police and the Mercer County sheriff's office are assisting at the scene.
