Family killed in apparent murder-suicide in Bayonne

Web produced by Jennifer Matarese, Eyewitness NewsBAYONNE, N.J. (WABC) -- Three adults and a baby were all killed in an apparent murder-suicide in Bayonne, New Jersey.

The Mayor of Bayonne confirmed what many in the neighborhood had feared.

"It looks like homicide and suicide," Mayor Mark Smith said.

In the home on Avenue A, 5 people were shot.

Monday night, four were dead including the gunman.

"It scares us a little bit," a neighbor said.

Residents gathered near the crime scene waiting for information and watching the investigation unfold.

One man, who didn't want to be identified, says his brother called 911 after seeing the gunman go into the home and hearing shots.

That was around 7:30 p.m.

"He goes back into the house and you know the rest," Smith said.

Sources tell Eyewitness News, three adults were shot and killed inside along with an infant.

"Came in as shots were fired, there was a dispute and it progressed from there," Smith said.

One person survived the shooting and was rushed to the hospital.

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Pedestrian impaled after apparent drag racing crash

  Eyewitness NewsJERSEY CITY (WABC) -- A horrible crash in New Jersey left one pedestrian dead and another hurt late Tuesday.

Police say reckless driving led to the crash, and authorities are investigating if drag racing was involved.

The accident happened on Kennedy Boulevard, one of Jersey City's main thoroughfares, at St. Paul's Avenue just before 11 p.m.

It appears a pair of brothers may be responsible. Police say two vehicles collided while driving at a high rate of speed. When they collided, one car veered off and slammed into a third car.

The two pedestrians apparently could not avoid the cars and were struck. Police say one of the victims, who remains unidentified, had his leg impaled on a fence outside a school. He also suffered intense head trauma. After an extended extrication of the pedestrian from the fence, the person was pronounced dead.

He is described as a Hindu male, approximately 25 to 30 years old. He had no ID on him.

The second pedestrian, identified as Rodrigo Ramirez, was struck by the car and knocked to the ground. Ramirez was rushed to Jersey City Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but police say 19-year-old Giancarlo Guevara-Cabezas was driving the car that hit the pedestrians. He was following his brother, 24-year-old Carlos Guevara-Cabezas, at the time of the crash. Jason Vermillo, 30, was driving the third vehicle involved. Vermillo was treated and released for minor cuts.

A witness told police he saw the two vehicles driven by the brothers traveling fast in the left lane as they passed Route 139. He says one car was attempting to pass the other when the two cars collided, causing Carlos' car to spin out and strike Vermillo's vehicle in the oncoming lanes. The witness said Giancarlo then struck Carlos' car, swerved to the right, mounted the sidewalk and struck the pedestrians.

Both brothers, however, claim a fourth vehicle was responsible for the crash. They reportedly told police that Giancarlo was following Carlos when a black car crashed into Carlos from the rear. That forced Carlos to veer to the left and the black car to swerve right. They say that car then struck Giancarlo's car and forced him onto the sidewalk. The brothers say that car then fled the scene.

Giancarlo suffered minor lacerations and was treated and released. Carlos suffered fractures to both legs. Giancarlo Guevara-Cabezas was issued summonses for speeding, reckless driving and unsafe lane change. Carlos was issued summonses for speeding and careless driving.

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Baboon captured after apparent escape in NJ

  Eyewitness NewsJACKSON (WABC) -- Officials at Great Adventure say a baboon captured in Howell, New Jersey on Saturday afternoon appears to belong to them.

The animal appeared unharmed when found on a farm in the area of Fairfield and Merrick Roads around 2:40 p.m.

The baboon was spotted in Freehold before being captured on that farm.

The animal was tranquilized and taken to Six Flags Great Adventure for a physical exam and health assessment.

Although the animal did not have a microchip, Great Adventure said it felt confident it is the baboon escapted from the park.

The baboon was probably too young for the chip to be implanted. They are typically implanted between ages 2 and 3.

Kristen Siebeneicher, the park's communications director, said Friday night that the Great Adventure baboons are vaccinated, fenced in and implanted with microchips.

All the sightings over the past two days and the eventual capture were in areas not far from Six Flags Great Adventure's Monkey Jungle in Jackson Township, leading to speculation that the baboon may have escaped from the park, which has 150 baboons.

"I saw the red hiney and I knew it was a baboon - instant panic!" said eyewitness Stacey Murphy.

Murphy was in the kitchen making food for the 4th of July when she made her first sighting.

"It just walked here like it was nothing. It was on all fours. If it was standing up, how tall would it have been? My height?" she said.

Murphy then screamed at the top of her lungs - so loud it woke her 12-year-old son up.

The first baboon sighting came Thursday, when a driver said the animal was near Interstate 195, and later that day a woman said a baboon was sitting on her back porch in Jackson.

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Some information from The Associated Press

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Marine murdered in apparent carjacking attempt

Web produced by Bob Monek, Eyewitness NewsJERSEY CITY (WABC) -- The family of a young marine in Jersey City is mourning his loss, not in battle but at the hands of a carjacker.

Corporal Anthony Adams, 23, was killed in an attempted carjacking.

Adams, who served Iraq, was supposed to be re-deployed to Africa in a few weeks.

Clutching a picture of her son, Pattie Laboo fought back tears.

She says she isn't angry. She can't feel a thing. She is numb.

Her son wouldn't want her to be angry.

"He's not that type of person," she said.

Anthony went to boot camp right from high school, served a year in Iraq and was on leave before volunteering to be deployed to Africa.

He was the life of the party a friend to everyone.

That's how Corporal Adams lived his life. It ended with his car crashing into another car after he was shot.

The Hudson County prosecutor says shortly after midnight, someone tried to carjack him. We don't know why shots were fired, but they were and Corporal Adams was killed.

A camera right above where it happened has helped the prosecutor's office to identify the shooter as 20-year old Earl Austin.

A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Pattie always knew "that call" could come when he was away, a courageous marine fighting for this country, but she never expected this.

"He lived and died for the marines. He would tell me, 'I love my country. I love my family,'" she said.

Corporal Adam's sister is graduating from college. He was supposed to be there and at a celebratory barbeque weekend.

"I have close family, very close family... And I know I can rely on them for anything I need. That's my support system right there," Patti said.

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Teen dies in apparent accident shooting

Web produced by Bob Monek, Eyewitness NewsRIDGEFIELD, N.J. (WABC) -- Christopher Yang's life was just getting started. The 18-year-old recent high school graduate was attending college in Bergen County.

But Monday night at his father's office, just minutes from their home, a single gunshot would end it all.

"Around 8 o'clock I heard Christopher come in with two of his friends. They went upstairs. There was nothing out of the ordinary," Dr. John Tas, the building owner, said.

Three hours later, police say, Christopher Yang fired one shot from a handgun, hitting himself in the head.

His two friends called 911, but it was too late. Yang was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Bloody foot prints still mark the floor outside of his father's office. A trash bag full of blood soaked towels sits in the hallway bathroom.

"Disbelief. I couldn't immediately put it into context. It's something that's not supposed to happen," family friend Richard Criscione said.

Criscione is the super at the building where Christopher lived with his parents and brother.

He saw Christopher's mother shortly after she got the news.

"She was numb. She was obviously distraught. She had been traumatized," he said.

Police say the gun was not registered in New Jersey and Christopher's father was away on business in China.

But a look at the teen's MySpace account shows he was no stranger to guns.

One picture shows him shooting a high powered rifle. Another photo shows a table full of assault rifles.

Under interests, Christopher wrote, "Let's start off with guns. I love them. They are my life blood, then it's video games."

No telling why he had a gun Monday night, but Richard, who watched Chrisopher, grow up says this had to be an accident because he would never intentionally shoot himself.

"Children - and that's what he is at 18, a child - can make mistakes, and sometimes you don't get a second chance," he said.

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