Art All Night festival shooting result of gang dispute, prosecutor says

Names of suspects have been released in the shooting on Sunday at Trenton, NJ Art All Night festival that left one man dead and 22 injured. One of the suspects, 33-year-old Tahaij Wells, was shot and killed by police during the incident. Wells had recently been recently paroled from prison where he had served time on homicide charges, according to police. The other suspect is 23-year-old Amir Armstrong who was taken into police custody. WPVI News reports:

“We believe it was a dispute between two neighborhoods that led to violence at the event. In no way was the event the target, it just happened to be the forum for the shooting,” Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri told ABC News Sunday afternoon.

Onofri praised the quick thinking of the officers who responded to the mass shooting at the Roebling Wire Works Building, where he said 22 people were injured and 17 were shot.

Earlier Sunday, Onofri said officials believe an officer shot and killed the suspect. The Mercer County’s Prosecutors Office Homicide Task Force has taken over the investigation due to the officer-involved shooting.

“Clearly the impetus for the police returning fire was the individuals shooting at each other,” he said. “Frankly, if it wasn’t that type of response, I think we would be talking about more victims.”

Seventeen of those injured suffered gunshot wounds, Onofri said. A 13-year-old boy and three other people are in critical condition. Later Sunday afternoon all but one person had been stabilized; the person remaining in critical condition is believed to be one of the suspects.

Around 1000 people were in attendance at Roebling Wire Works for Art All Night when shooting broke out around 2:45 AM Sunday morning. Speaking to CNN, Onofri pointed out the festival entrances didn’t have metal detectors.

Police say there could be more suspects names and that they are questioning witnesses. You can watch WPVI’s report below.