ASBURY PARK — At least two people were shot here over the weekend, bringing the city?s total shootings to about 20 so far this year, law enforcement officials say.
A 20-year-old man was shot at 7 p.m.. Saturday in the 700 block of Emory Avenue on the city?s east side and authorities have yet to make an arrest, according to Charles Webster, a spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor?s Office. The victim suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.
Asbury Park Police Capt. Anthony Salerno confirmed there was a second shooting on Sunday night but would not release any details. The 20 shootings, he said, were an unofficial count of shots fired.
The prosecutor?s office is also investigating a report of shots fired early Sunday in the area of 607 Second Ave, also on the east side. Webster said this incident happened at 1:53 a.m. and there was no victim found. Police have made no arrests in this incident.
Gun violence continues to plague this 1.4-square mile town and the weekend incidents shocked some east side residents, as most of the shootings this year have occurred on the west side. Kim Lueddeke, who just moved to the city?s east side three weeks ago, said the shootings happened within blocks of her home near Grand and Asbury Avenue.
?It makes you nervous to know that so close to your house there are gun shots being fired,? said Lueddeke, 31. ?I think the police should be a little more vigilant if (multiple) incidents are happening in one weekend.?
Mayor Myra Campbell said she believes some community members have lost their sense of pride and hope.
Campbell, who took office earlier this month, said she wants to see more youth programs that build skills and expose young people to positive, successful role models.
?You?ve got to know that you can achieve, you can be successful. You?ve got to have hope, you?ve got to have an avenue in which you can get the tools that will help you move forward,? Campbell said. ?If you always see negative, then you are more likely to adopt some of those principles.?
?We are not going to police ourselves out of this,? Campbell said, echoing her predecessor, former city mayor Ed Johnson.
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