NJ cops: Man denied access to party near Seton Hall leaves, returns with gun; 5 shot

5 shot at party near Seton Hall in NJ, 1 critical

EAST ORANGE, N.J. — New Jersey police say a man who was denied access to a private party at an apartment near Seton Hall University left and returned with a handgun, shooting five people.

East Orange Police Sgt. Andrew Di Elmo says one victim is in critical condition after the shooting just after midnight Saturday. The other four are hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Di Elmo says the victims did not know the shooter, who fled from the apartment on foot. Police are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the suspect’s capture.

Police say three of the victims are students at Seton Hall and one is a student at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The fifth victim is a 20-year-old man from New York City.

A man who said he had stopped by the party told The Star-Ledger of Newark that he was in the kitchen and heard people shouting in the living room when a shot rang out. The man declined to give his full name to the newspaper because he feared for his safety.

More shots were fired as the panicked crowd stampeded toward the back of the house to try to escape, the man said. He told the newspaper he went back into the house as police arrived and saw one of the victims lying on the floor.

The apartment is located less than a mile from the university.