Rutgers Student Shot In Stomach In Gang-Related Attack: Police

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — A Rutgers University student remains hospitalized after she was shot in the stomach in a drive-by shooting Friday morning, when bullets flew into her apartment and struck her in the stomach.

The 21-year-old was an accidental target of the shooting, which may have been gang related, said Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone.

The bullet entered the second-floor apartment she rents above the Golden Rail Pub at 66 Easton Avenue shortly after 2 a.m., authorities said.

Police say a group of men associated with the Bloods gang indiscriminately fired a barrage of gunshots in the direction of the bar, while about a dozen college students stood outside. A second Rutgers student, a young man, was also hit by projectile fragments from the shooting.

On Tuesday, the prosecutor released the criminal complaints against the suspects, which shed many new details on what happened that night:

At 2 a.m. Friday, New Brunswick Police responded to the Golden Rail Pub at 66 Easton Avenue for a 911 call of a shooting. They found the young woman there, with the gunshot wound to her stomach. She was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she has since undergone multiple surgeries. She remains in the hospital as of Tuesday; the police reports said she suffered multiple internal-organ injuries and paralysis to the lower half of her body.

At the hospital, police encountered the second Rutgers student, where he was being treated for injuries to his head and left arm. He said he was hit with shrapnel from the gunfire while he was standing outside the bar. The young man was able to take himself to the hospital.

Security cameras showed that earlier that night, a physical altercation broke out on the sidewalk at 60 Easton Avenue between the shooting suspects and two other men. Cameras showed the alleged shooter, Christian Farmer, 22, of New Brunswick, pull a handgun with a green laser attached to it and point it at the men, but then put it back into his waistband.

Farmer and two other men then got into a red, two-door Dodge Challenger and drove off, but parked a short distance away, on Hamilton Street near Easton Avenue. Police said they watched as the two men involved in the earlier fight walked away from the Golden Rail, and Farmer aimed the gun at them. The green laser could be seen from the passenger side window of the car, said police.

Farmer fired, but did not hit his intended targets, police said. He instead hit three buildings with a bullet spray — and ultimately the female Rutgers student in her apartment upstairs. The prosecutor declined to answer when asked what room the young woman was shot in, or whether she was sleeping when she was shot.

At the time, about 12 people, many of them likely Rutgers students, were standing outside the Golden Rail Pub, which is a popular hang-out for college students. Other surrounding businesses on Easton Ave., a hub of Rutgers nightlife, also had people inside at the time.

Three addresses — 66 Easton Avenue, 68 Easton Avenue and 135 Somerset Street — were all later found with bullet holes in them.

The Dodge Challenger fled the scene. Shell casings were recovered, and New Brunswick Police/Prosecutor's detectives were able to locate the Challenger using automated license plate readers.

After the shooting, the two men who were the intended target were interviewed by police, authorities said. They said they knew the three suspects to be members of the "brims," a subset of the Bloods criminal street gang, police said.

New Brunswick and Rutgers Police flooded the shooting scene Thursday night, and have since made three arrests:

• Farmer, 22, of New Brunswick, the alleged shooter. He was charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, aggravated assault and illegal gun charges.
• Walter Rodriguez-Cardenas, 20, was arrested without incident in Plainfield, where he lives. Police say he drove the getaway car. He was charged with third-degree armed riot and third-degree hindering the apprehension of another.
• Ryan Nasi, 22, of Hillsborough, charged with third-degree armed riot.

Police say they are looking for a fourth suspect, who still remains at large.

Anyone with information or surveillance footage of the area is asked to call Detective Freeman of the New Brunswick Police Department at 732-745-5200.

Monday's report: 2 Rutgers Students Shot Last Friday, One While In Her Apartment (April 8)

Initial Patch report on this shooting: Stray Bullet Hits Woman Inside Her Home Near Rutgers Campus (April 5)