Multiple gunmen walked up to a block party in Trenton, New Jersey, and fired into the crowd early on August 30, 2026, killing two people and sending eight others to the hospital. Authorities have not released a motive.
As of September 2, police said no arrests had been made, and three of the wounded remained in critical condition.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office is leading the case with the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the Trenton Police Department. Detectives have been pulling surveillance video and canvassing for witnesses to a gathering that officials say drew roughly 100 people to a single residential block.
How the Gunfire Started
Family members and friends described the gathering as a neighborhood cookout, and officials said the crowd formed on the 100 block of Locust Street on the night of August 29. The prosecutor’s office said multiple suspects walked up to the party at about 12:23 a.m., shortly after midnight, and opened fire into the crowd.
The crowd numbered about 150 when the first shots rang out, according to a woman who said she was at the cookout and asked not to be named. The shooting seemed to stop after an initial burst, she said, and then started again. She did not know how many people were firing.
Police dispatch audio captured about 15 separate calls reporting gunshot victims on Locust Street. Officers arriving on the block found multiple victims scattered across a crime scene that ran its full length. Detectives collected more than 50 spent shell casings, and gunfire damaged several vehicles. Ewing and Hamilton Township officers responded to help.
Ambulances and private vehicles carried the wounded to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, 2 miles from the scene. Tape cordoned off one hospital entrance that morning, and a damaged vehicle parked at the emergency room entrance was towed away. A woman standing outside the medical center said her nephew had been shot in the head.
His brother, Kyzir Carmichael, said Howlett had reached the party only moments before the shooting. “I literally talked to him for three minutes, and three minutes later a young lady is telling me he is on the ground fighting for his life,” he told 6abc in the September 2 interview.
Two Dead and Eight Hospitalized
Ten people were shot in all. Two of the victims died, and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office identified them as Trenton residents Tyasiah West, 33, and Anthony Howlett, 42. In a family interview published September 2, the man killed is identified as 42-year-old Yahsim Howlett, whose son is named Anthony Howlett. His mother, Lea Howlett, said: “My son did not deserve this. You have broken me. You have broken my grandson.”
The hospitalized survivors — six men and two women — were between 23 and 43 years old. Four were treated and released. A 42-year-old woman was listed in stable condition, while three men, ages 23, 29 and 32, remained in critical condition.
Casualty figures shifted in the hours after the shooting. A statement from the office of Trenton Mayor W. Reed Gusciora that morning put the toll at two dead and nine wounded, and an 11-shot figure circulated widely before the prosecutor’s office arrived at eight wounded and 10 shot. A crowd of about 200 was the mayor’s own estimate at what he called a large, unauthorized gathering of adults — bigger than the roughly 100 the prosecutor’s office has given.
Community members said Howlett had been working to rebuild his life after coming home from incarceration. “He was honored earlier that day for being an activist, for being a good person,” said Perry Shaw of the Trenton Community Street Team. That recognition came at the Operation Capital City awards ceremony, whose founder, Omar Aikens, is Howlett’s cousin. “I tried to create something for us to be proud of, give us our flowers while we’re here, and it’s sad how it ended,” Aikens told 6abc in the September 2 interview.
Questions About Permits and the Police Response
Speaking Sunday afternoon, Gusciora said the violence grew out of an unauthorized event that spiraled beyond control. Trenton requires a permit, an approved street closure and hired security for large gatherings, he said, and he urged anyone hoping to hold a block party to go through the city and police first. “Ten victims is unconscionable,” he told reporters. “This is not about criminalizing people for gathering together. It is about recognizing the difference between a gathering and hundreds of people occupying a residential street without authorization.”
Officers had kept watch on the crowd as it grew through the night, Trenton Police Director Steve Wilson said, and a street supervisor ordered extra attention be paid to the gathering. “I do believe that there was actually a unit present when the shooting happened,” he said. “Unfortunately, the crowd was larger than the police presence and even sometimes with the presence of police, these things happen.”
That explanation has not satisfied everyone on the block. Neighbors said officers should have broken up the party long before the shooting started. “You going to tell me that they couldn’t shut this down?” Trenton resident Grace Fernandez said. “They knew that they didn’t have a permit, so why blame the people?” She lives three blocks away.
Outreach in Wilbur and East Trenton
Addressing people who live in the Wilbur section and East Trenton, Gusciora said community outreach teams would be sent to both neighborhoods, where they would talk with residents, learn what they had heard and work to head off any retaliation. “You should not have to accept this as normal,” the mayor said. “Your block should not become an event venue for hundreds of people without notice or authorization.”
Wilson, for his part, said an officer presence on scene does not always deter people intent on destruction. Speaking up can prevent the violence in the future, Gusciora has told residents, pressing them to report what they know.
Help is still being sought by Investigators. Detective Jennifer Eyster of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force can be reached through the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office by Anyone with information or video from the 100 block of Locust Street.
