Berkely Walter McDaniel was walking on the 400 block of Stuyvesant Avenue about 8:45 p.m. when several shots rang out.
A Trenton police officer investigates a crime scene on Perry Street TRENTON — A 61-year-old city man who police believe was struck by a stray bullet during a West Ward shooting was killed Sunday night, police said.
Berkely Walter McDaniel was walking on the 400 block of Stuyvesant Avenue about 8:45 p.m. when several shots rang out, police said. McDaniel was shot in the head and died within minutes. The death is the city’s 15th homicide of the year.
“I don’t believe he was the intended target,” Lt. Mark Kieffer, a police spokesman, said yesterday.
Walking with McDaniel and also wounded during the shooting was a 51-year-old city man. That victim, whom police did not identify, was shot in the shoulder and expected to survive, according to police.
Another stray round from the shooting struck an NJ Transit bus passing by as the gunfire erupted, Kieffer said. An NJ Transit spokeswoman said yesterday that none of the six passengers on board was injured.
There was no apparent motive for the shooting yesterday, and no full description of the gunman. Police believe yesterday the suspect fired from across the street, and that there was no return fire.
Police did not say whether they had identified a potential target. Kieffer said McDaniel and the 51-year-old who was wounded did not have anyone else walking with them during their trip back from a store, but said there likely were other people on the street or on front porches at the time.
Paramedics called out to the scene immediately after the shooting pronounced McDaniel dead there. The 51-year-old was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center.
Police said yesterday they were reviewing all available evidence, including video footage from the NJ Transit bus. That camera, however, only records inside the bus, Kieffer said.
NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said the 609 bus was traveling on its regular route from Lawrence to Ewing when the shooting happened. The driver pulled over and notified authorities, and the passengers were transferred to another bus.
Police kept the crime scene on Stuyvesant Avenue cordoned off until after daybreak so detectives could get a full view of the area.Detectives are investigating the homicide.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at (609) 989-4170 or the Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.
Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.
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