New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy responded to Sunday’s deadly shooting at a Trenton arts festival by calling for new controls on guns. But a suspect’s gang membership — and early release from prison after Murphy took office — may have been bigger factors in an incident that left one person dead and 22 wounded.
Meanwhile, Murphy — a first-term Democrat in his first elected office — supports shorter sentences for offenders and cuts in prisoner rehabilitation programs.
The suspect, identified as Tahaji Wells, 33, opened fire before 3 a.m. at the Art All Night festival in New Jersey’s capital city, in what appears to have been a gang-related dispute. Wells was reportedly killed by police, and 17 of the 22 people injured reportedly suffered gunshot wounds.
We awoke to news of a mass shooting right here in Trenton.
Art All Night is a time when we all come together. We cannot let gun violence tear us apart.
These are not inappropriate times to talk about gun policy. These are the most important times to talk about gun policy. pic.twitter.com/EJtM7iLOPN
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) June 17, 2018
But it turns out that Wells had been released from prison in February, despite receiving an 18-year state prison sentence in 2004 on an aggravated manslaughter conviction in the shooting death of a 22-year-old man, NJ.com reported. – READ MORE
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