Two people were shot in back-to-back daytime shootings in the Jersey City Heights Wednesday morning, authorities said.
The non-fatal shootings, which occurred just before 11 a.m., are the latest spasms of violence in an ongoing conflict between rival groups from the Heights and neighboring Hoboken, Jersey City Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh said.
The inter-city feud has resulted in six shootings in the Heights since August, Saleh added.
“The Jersey City Police Department and the Hoboken Police Department are working hand and hand together to take care of this situation,” Saleh said. “I will be fighting to get more units here in the Heights in those locations so there is a stronger police presence. This kind of violence is unacceptable, and we are going to hold these groups accountable.”
Police first responded to the area of Leonard Street and Summit Avenue just after 10:50 a.m. where a person was shot. Minutes later, at least three shots rang out at Franklin Street and New York Avenue – just over a mile from the site of the first shooting.
A male was struck three times, police said in radio transmissions. More than a dozen shell cases were found at the scene.
Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said the two people who were shot Wednesday suffered injuries that are not life-threatening. She said the investigation into the shootings continues.
Shortly after authorities responded to Franklin Street and New York Avenue, a Toyota Rav-4 believed to have been used in the shooting was found unoccupied on Marshall Drive in Hoboken, police said.
Wallace-Scalcione said the owner of the vehicle has been “located by the police.”
Authorities were also on the lookout for a Honda that fled the scene of the Leonard Street shooting, according to police radio transmissions.
On Aug. 14, a person was shot in the area of Webster Avenue and Griffith Street, blocks from the scene of Wednesday’s second shooting. Another person was shot in the leg 11 days later in the area of Manhattan and Sherman avenues, leading to the arrest of a 20-year-old on gun charges.
It’s unclear when the other two shootings took place.
“Having been born and raised here, I have seen it during the bad times, and I have seen it change,” Saleh said. “I see it now sliding back and we need to make sure we are supporting our police department when it comes to issues like this.”
Journal staff writer Joshua Rosario contributed to this story.