Stray bullet tears through home in Jersey City

Web produced by Jennifer Matarese, Eyewitness NewsJERSEY CITY (WABC) -- A woman with her children and grandchildren was sitting around watching television in their home in New Jersey when they heard a gunshot. They found a bullet hole right above their TV.

"We just heard it and saw the dust, splattered everywhere," said Shawonda Clairsin, a Jersey City resident.

The paint chips and sheetrock have been cleaned up, but there are two bullet holes in the walls of the Clarsin's living room on Armstrong Avenue in Jersey City.

"When the cops came we found out there are two more bullet holes outside in the hallway," Clairsin said.

All of the holes came from one single bullet that was fired from a gun outside of the 2nd floor apartment Monday night just before 10pm.

"I got down, called the cops," Clairsin said.

That one bullet went clean through three walls; the exterior wall, the one in the stairwell, and then it went through into the apartment next to the TV, landing in the wall across the room, just next to the sofa where the two sisters, their mother, and Francios' two daughters were sitting at the time.

"We were watching TV, they're shooting, they're shooting, get down, get down," Marie Francios, a Jersey City resident said.

An upstairs neighbor told Eyewitness News he saw a group of guys run down the street after the gunshots.

Jersey City Police recovered five shell casings and say they're reviewing surveillance video in their search for suspect.

But that one bullet is still lodged in the wall, only a few feet away from where the Lord's prayer is hangs over their sofa, and where they family miraculously walked away without a scratch.

"I was especially scared for the baby, she would have got hit," Francios said.

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Man accused of assaulting teen over stray baseball

SCOTCH PLAINS, New Jersey (WABC) -- A New Jersey homeowner in trouble with the law after officers say he assaulted a high school baseball player because of stray ball.

The suspect was arrested, and charged with simple assault and released on his own recognizance.

The baseball field is just beyond trees in the backyards of some frustrated residents.

The suspect, Michael Bennett's wife sent police to shoo Eyewitness News crews away, refusing to open the door to talk to us about her husband's arrest.

During a baseball game Saturday a player hit a foul ball from school property into their yard.

When a Union Catholic High School senior went to fetch it, police say the 44-year-old Scotch Plains homeowner assaulted the 18-year-old student.

"I think he is more emotionally shaken up," said Diocese spokesperson Jim Goodness.

Goodness is the spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Newark who oversees the school.

He admits neighbors have complained about balls landing on their properties.

But he never expected it to go this far.

"The ball field has been there for decades it was there before any of the houses were built therefore any neighbors moved into the area they knew it was a ball field there," he adds.

The school suggested putting up netting but most homeowners said no because it would spoil the look of the area.

So they put in a tree line to work as a buffer, hoping that will solve the problem when they grow in.

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Stray bullet kills New Brunswick man in his home

  By Matt KozarNEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (WABC) -- Authorities in New Brunswick are investigating the death of a man who was killed in his own home, by a stray bullet.

The freak fatal shooting happened inside a gated community in broad daylight.

The bullet passed through the second story window of a townhouse on Birch Court Friday afternoon.

40 year old Richard Chang, a contractor who lived with his wife, was struck and killed.

After hearing the shots, neighbors flooded 9-1-1 with calls reporting gunfire in the vicinity of the victim's townhouse.

Police immediately cordoned off the area, questioned neighbors and continue to search for a suspect, but no arrests have been made.

A preliminary investigation has determined that Chang was not the intended victim.

No one else was injured.

Chang has security cameras mounted on his home, but it's not clear if they captured what happened or who was involved.

Pearl Oduro lives with her two-year-daughter on the quiet, residential street where the shooting happened.

She's one of several residents who complained to us about the broken security gates at the entrance of her complex.

Residents tell us neighborhood gangs frequently cut through the property and sometimes hang out on the corner.

"This neighborhood is supposed to be gated, but this gate is always up for the past over two years," said Oduro.

"I feel like the management could have prevented this."

We were unable to reach the management company for comment.

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Newark woman struck by stray bullet in van

Web produced by Jennifer Matarese, Eyewitness NewsNEWARK (WABC) -- Police in Newark are investigating after a stray bullet hit a woman driving a van full of students on Woodside Avenue Monday.

The bullet pierced the driver's side door of the red van.

Inside, was an innocent 59-year-old school bus driver with six high school students.

Three girls ran screaming for help, the three boys were terrified, but stayed to look after her.

"Wrong place, wrong time," Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio said.

Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio says it happened around 5 p.m. Monday on Woodside Avenue.

"Some kind of dispute led to a shot being fired, didn't hit intended target, went astray and hit driver of school bus in her hip," DeMaio said, "Innocent person being hit, that's something we're not going to tolerate."

The van was bringing the students back to high school after a day of work.

Christ the King Prep School is an experimental academy that places kids in jobs one day per week.

Last year 100% of its graduates went on to college.

Parents picking up their children Tuesday were horrified by the random violence.

"Just moved to the area, and I am scared about that," one parent said.

"This is like the Wild Wild West out here, these kids don't care, they just run wild," another parent said.

The police director tells Eyewitness News he's concerned about what's happening with guns.

"You look back at the kinds of weapons we used to see out here, 38s and Saturday night specials, now we routinely see the kind of weaponry, assault rifles, that they are using in Iraq are right here on our streets," DeMaio said.

"It's sad. Just crazy out here," a resident said.

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