Paramedics would not pronounce Shakir Williams dead until more than one hour after the first 911 call for the shooting was received.
HAMILTON — Chaos reigned when township police arrived at an alleged underage drinking party on Deutz Avenue where several teens had been shot late Friday night.
A drunken, belligerent teenage girl allegedly caused such a commotion she had to be handcuffed. A neighbor who came out of his home saw at least six young men spread-eagled on the sidewalk, being guarded by patrol officers with guns drawn.
So many teens who had escaped the shooting were standing around outside, the neighbor compared it to the exits of a stadium after a ballgame lets out. The street was clogged with police cars, ambulances, and most of the 100 teens authorities say attended the party, which was being held for a girl’s 15th birthday. The girl’s mother and stepfather, who authorities said were upstairs while the party was raging, and her 23-year-old brother who allegedly collected $3 and $2 cover charges at the door, all were questioned.
Amid the commotion, the body of 17-year-old Shakir Williams lay inside the bedroom of the house where the party had been held, and was not immediately discovered. Paramedics would not pronounce him dead until more than one hour after the first 911 call for the shooting was received.
“The officers had to clear everyone — they did not know if the shooter was or was not in their midst,” Mercer County First Assistant Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said. “As they were clearing the house — that’s when they found the body.”
It was not immediately clear when the patrol officers started clearing the house, but the prosecutor’s office said the call for the shooting came in at 11:13 p.m., and officers arrived at 11:18. Williams was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m., after the paramedics had spent time trying to revive him.
Shakir Williams Hamilton Police could not be reached for comment yesterday, as they investigated the shooting that left Williams dead and four other teens wounded. The most seriously injured, a 17-year-old boy shot in the torso, arms, leg, and groin remained in critical but stable condition at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton late yesterday.
Two others, young men aged 17 and 18, were shot in the legs and treated at the Regional Medical Center. The fourth victim, a young man struck in the calf, was treated at St. Francis Medical Center and released yesterday morning.
Prosecutors are mulling charges against the mother and stepfather, along with the 23-year-old brother. He was allegedly collecting $3 cover charges from boys and $2 from the girls as they filed into the party.
“We are going to examine the underage drinking, but the priority right now is finding the shooter,” Onofri said.
There was no apparent motive in the shooting, but Onofri said police believe one gunman is responsible and that he was at the party for a period of time before opening fire inside the house.
No charges have been filed, but several potential suspects were questioned at police headquarters throughout the day Saturday. Statements were taken from more than 15 witnesses, Onofri said. None of them remembered any disturbance at the party prior to the shooting, he said.
Virtually all of the partygoers were under 18.
“The oldest was the 23-year-old, but the vast majority of them were 15, 16, 17,” Onofri said.
On Twitter yesterday, several friends and acquaintances of Williams, including people who said they attended the party, were referencing “Up Top” and “801st,” both names for what Trenton police have said is a neighborhood gang that’s based near the corner of Stuyvesant Avenue and Hoffman Avenue in the city. One of their members is James Grant, who was arrested and charged with firing a rifle at a Trenton police SUV last May, city police have said.
Trenton police officers were called to the scene to assist, Lt. Steve Varn said, to what at that point was reported as an “active shooter” call.
Outside her Highland Avenue home in the city’s West Ward yesterday afternoon, Williams’ mother was too distraught to comment.
Anyone with information on the crime should call Hamilton Police at (609) 581-4043 or the anonymous tipline at (609) 581-4008.
Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.
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