Suspect arrested following deadly shooting in West Carteret

Carteret police arrested a man accused of shooting two women — one fatally — Wednesday morning along Roosevelt Avenue in the city's West Carteret neighborhood.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, was found in the yard of a home along Post Boulevard at 3:30 p.m. Home surveillance video captured the suspect being found and arrested in a fenced yard.

Police located the suspect with the help of Lara Lorton, a woman who lives in the neighborhood. She tells News 12 New Jersey she looked out her kitchen window and saw the man in her neighbor's driveway.

She saw the suspect's photo online and almost couldn't believe it was him.

“He was looking around and trying to see what was going on and see if it was clear to maybe move. I don't know. But he was definitely moving around trying to see what was going on,” Lorton said.

Lorton had been nervous all day knowing the man was still on the run and possibly in her neighborhood.

“I had to look again and make sure it was him.” I saw the photo and it matched and I called him and screamed on my lawn telling the cops where to go on the street side. They pass the street and he was on our side street,” she said.

Carteret police said the suspect shot two women around 9 a.m. outside a home along Roosevelt Avenue. Both victims were taken by helicopter to nearby hospitals, but only one survived.

Immediately after the shooting, police said the shooter took off on foot and was spotted along Delaware Avenue and Post Boulevard. Heavily armed police and K-9 officers searched the area for hours. At times, some officers could be seen with weapons drawn as they entered properties.

At one point, the suspect was seen walking in the woods near Medwick Park. There, two police helicopters searched overhead while a police sniper perched on a SWAT vehicle parked along the New Jersey Turnpike.

Police seemed certain the suspect was in this wooded area. But then they got Lorton's call and he was found three blocks from the search area.

As for the suspect, police say it is unclear if he is related to the two victims.

The names of the victims have not been released.

Anyone who may have information about the shooting is asked to call Detective Keith Cassens of the Carteret Police Department at 732-541-3852 or Detective Javier Morillo of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at 732-745-8843.