Investigators continued their search this weekend for the suspects who fired 10 rounds Tuesday evening into the home of married Camden County police officers.
Here’s what we know so far:
The house was hit in a barrage of bullets.
At least two men sprayed the Clinton Street home with gunfire shortly before midnight and seven of the shots hit it.
Six of the bullets penetrated the structure - two through the front door - as the two officers were upstairs with their newborn child, who was only 10 days old when the shooting happened.
Neither the officers nor their baby were injured.
Were the officers targeted?
Rick Kunkel, union president of FOP 218 that represents Camden’s officers, said investigators believe the house was specifically targeted but the motive — whether they were targeted because they were officers — remains unclear.
Dan Keashen, a spokesman for the police department, said the investigation has not revealed any connection between the shooting and any specific cases the officers handled in the course of their work.
“It’s unbelievable, if they were targeting them as officers,” Kunkel said. “It’s well-known that these two officers live here. Most neighbors here talk to each other and look out for each other. They come and go from the residence in uniform, take meal breaks here so it’s not uncommon for there to be a police car parked here.”
The officers had a strong relationship with the community.
Police said the male officer has worked for the department for four years and his wife for two years.
Both are assigned to the Neighborhood Response Team, which Kunkel said is focused on community policing. Officers are often walking the beat on foot to chat with residents, meeting people at events and working to build a relationship and good will with the public, he said.
Authorities have not released the officers' names, but NJ Advance Media has identified them based on public records. One received a commendation in 2019 for apprehending two fleeing suspects engaged in a drug deal, safely arresting them and taking an illegal gun off the streets in the process.
Police located and towed a 1998 dark colored Honda Odyssey during the investigation into the shooting of a home of two Camden County Police officers.Camden County Police Department
Manhunt is underway for suspects.
Police have not identified any suspects.
Camden Police Chief Joseph Wysocki said there were three people in the vehicle during the shooting, a driver and two suspected gunmen.
Investigators also identified a 1998 dark-colored Honda Odyssey with a temporary paper tag in the area of the home during the shooting.
Early Thursday morning, police located and towed the minivan for further investigation.
What’s next, as reward for information doubles.
In the wake of the shooting, Keashen confirmed that all officers had been advised to work in pairs at all times in the wake of the shooting.
Although most officers often followed this practice, Keashen said the department wanted them to be extra careful.
The reward for information leading to an arrest of the suspects more than doubled Friday to $52,500 after two new organizations pitched in to aid in the effort.
The New Jersey Policemen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) offered $20,000, and First Colonial Bank of Collingswood offered an additional $2,500 to help bring the suspects to justice, according to a statement from the Camden County Police Department. Lawmen Supply Company has offered another $10,000.
These contributions are in addition to those already announced by the FBI ($10,000), the Fraternal Order of Police ($5,000), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ($5,000), police said.
Violence is on the rise in Camden.
It has been a bloody couple of weeks in Camden, after two men were killed in the last week in the city and a third was murdered just over the city line in Pennsauken.
In the last month, five people have been killed. With a total of 13 homicides this year in all of Camden, nearly 40% of the city’s homicides for the year happened in the last month.
Reporters Kevin Shea, Rebecca Everett and Anthony G. Attrino contributed to this report.
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.