JERSEY CITY – Police Chief Thomas Comey announced Friday afternoon that the suspect in the July 16 shooting of a 5-year-old girl at the Montgomery Gardens public housing complex in downtown Jersey City faces additional charges in connection with a shooting two weeks earlier.
In a press release, Comey said Demetrius Thompson, 18, already charged with aggravated assault for allegedly shooting Hasmera Clayton in the neck, has been identified and charged for allegedly trying to shoot a 16-year-old on July 3 on Summit Avenue following a dispute.
Comey said Thompson was charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses in the July 3 incident, in which the 16-year-old escaped unharmed. Thompson is also being charged with two counts of attempted murder in the July 16 shooting, Comey said, based on the continuing investigation of the incident. Authorities believe that Thompson was allegedly aiming at other people who were in the courtyard of the Montgomery Gardens complex that evening.
The announcement came one day after a rally at Montgomery Gardens for the little girl. Hundreds gathered to not only send their best wishes to her but also to condemn the crime as well as the proliferation of illegal firearms in Jersey City.
The rally, organized by local pastor Eugene Overstreet, was attended by residents as well as officials including Mayor Jerramiah Healy, State Sen. Sandra Cunningham, City Council members Viola Richardson and Steven Fulop, and Police Director Samuel Jefferson.
Meanwhile, the 5-year-old is recovering at University Hospital in Newark after surgery was successful in removing a bullet from her neck. Her father, Hasan Clayton, told a reporter during the Thursday rally that she can move her arms and is “talking a lot” but can’t move her legs, needing another six weeks for recovery.
Despite the shootings, the murder rate for the first six months of this year in Jersey City is down from last year – see related story on the cover of this weekend’s Jersey City Reporter. – RK
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