NEWBURGH - Two young Newburgh women were shot to death during a Halloween costume party early Sunday morning, police say.

According to a witness, random shots were fired in the dark after someone at the party turned the lights off for about a minute at 12:43 a.m.

"The lights were out, and when they were turned back on, there was blood all over the floor," said Imani Robinson, 14, of Newburgh.

Dead were 20-year-old Tabitha Cruz and her friend, 18-year-old Omani Free.

According to Newburgh police, five other guests were wounded by gunfire and are expected to recover from their injuries.

Robinson said she managed to avoid injury, thanks to an unknown good Samaritan.

"Someone grabbed me and threw me into a room," she said. "It was a shame; it was supposed to be a Halloween party. People came to have fun. I don't know why anyone would bring a gun to a Halloween party."

Robinson recalled hearing two young men arguing near the DJ booth just before the shooting began, but said she didn't know what they were fighting about.

The Newburgh Free Academy sophmore was one of several teenagers who learned about the party at 119 Broadway through an invitation on social media.

Free's cousin, Talayah Walker, 14, said she received the same invitation, but decided at the last minute not to go.

The teens said they didn't know who hosted the party.

Teran Studio is located in the building, but art gallery owner Will Teran took to Facebook on Sunday to say that the party wasn't held at his studio and he had no connection to the event.

Dozens of friends and relatives of the two victims gathered outside the shooting scene to console one another.

They lit candles in memory of the two young women, while police crime scene investigators came and went from the building, gathering evidence.

Cruz's relatives recalled that she had big dreams.

The Newburgh Free Academy graduate worked as a sales associate at Payless Shoes at the Newburgh Mall.

She was saving up to go to college in hopes of becoming a veterinarian.

Free was a popular senior at NFA. "She was such a wonderful person, and she was really looking forward to graduating," said Free's cousin, Kadijha Peterson, 14.

According to sources, Newburgh police had a suspect in for questioning late Sunday.

When reached by phone, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler confirmed that his office and the Newburgh Police Department were in the midst of a joint investigation.

pliu@th-record.com