At least three people have been killed in a shooting incident at a supermarket in the eastern US state of New Jersey, US media reports citing local officials said Friday.
The shooting incident reportedly happened at the Pathmark store on Route 9 in Old Bridge, a suburb located about 25 miles from Manhattan, early on Friday.
Local officials identified the gunman as 23-year-old Terence S. Tyler, an employee at the Pathmark store. He is said to have turned the gun on himself after shooting dead two co-workers at the store.
His victims were identified as an 18-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man, both from Old Bridge. They were among several workers who were were inside the store stacking shelves in preparation for opening.
According to local media reports, the shooting incident happened at about 4am on Friday. Incidentally, store was closed at the time of the shooting, and was scheduled to open at 6 am.
Police believe that the shooting incident was triggered by an argument between the shooter and a co-worker. Witnesses were quoted as saying that the shooter left the store at about 3:30 am to retrieve an AK-47 and a handgun from his car, and used those weapons to kill his co-workers and himself.
Police officers said the shooter fired at least 16 shots inside the store and added that an AK-47, extra ammunition and a handgun were found at the scene. It is understood that the shooter killed himself before police officers could intervene. No shots were fired by police.
Friday's incident was the fifth of its kind in the US in recent weeks. While three people were killed in a shooting incident in College Station city near the Texas A&M University campus on August 13, two people were killed and another nine wounded in a shooting that took place outside of the Empire State Building on August 24.
A similar shooting incident at a cinema in Colorado had left 12 people dead and 58 others injured on July 20, while an attack at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin killed six people on August 5.
The shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin had prompted widespread calls for implementing stricter gun control laws in the United States. Soon after the Wisconsin shooting, President Barack Obama stressed that Americans needed "soul-searching" on issues related to gun violence.
by RTT Staff Writer
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