Bridgeton Drive-By Shooting

The Cohansey Strteet home in Bridgeton where neighbors say a woman was wounded on the night of Monday, Aug. 11, 2014 in a drive-by shooting. The unidentified woman later died. (Staff Photo By Spencer Kent/South Jersey Times)

A shot was fired at Bridgeton police officers early Wednesday morning as they investigated a burglary on North Street, according to Chief Mark Ott.

Officers responded to a burglary call at a duplex on North Street at 1:12 a.m. The resident of one half of the house had reported they had returned home and noticed the door of their own residence — and the currently vacant residence next door — were open and damaged.

Police searched the two homes, but found no one inside. As they were walking on the sidewalk in front of the duplex, a single shot was fired in their direction from the opposite side of North Street.

There were three officers and a sergeant on the sidewalk at the time of the shooting, none of whom were injured.

A perimeter was set up around the block bordered by Lanning Street, Cohansey Street, North Street and Nichols Street. With assistance from State Police troopers and a K9 unit, a search was conducted, but no suspect was found. Police then began a search of the area for physical evidence.

North Street was the location of violence just two days ago when a 20-year-old woman was wounded, and later died, from a drive-by shooting. Police do not believe the victim was the intended target, nor do they believe Wednesday's early morning shooting was related to this incident.

"There is no apparent link between the shot being directed at the officers and the recent and tragic homicide of the 20-year-old female on the same street," Ott said in a written release. "The investigation of the homicide is being aggressively pursued and progress is being made by the Bridgeton Police Department and members of the Cumberland. County Prosecutor's Office. I am very confident that our detectives will identify the party(ies) responsible. I again ask those members of the public who have information regarding who was responsible to come forward and share that information as soon as possible."

This shooting also comes on the heels of another act of violence toward police in South Jersey this week.

Early Tuesday morning, seven high-caliber rounds were fired into the West Deptford Police station in Gloucester County. Five of those shots hit a door used by officers to enter and exit the building and a sixth went through the window of the deputy chief's office. The seventh shot hit the north-facing wall of the building, where police cars are parked.

A $27,750 reward has been offered for information leading to arrest and conviction in the West Deptford shooting and now a $20,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the Bridgeton shooting.

Anyone with information regarding the shot fired at Bridgeton police officers is asked to contact 856-451-0033 ext. 0, or go to the police station at 330 Fayette St., Bridgeton, and ask for Det. Lt. James Battavio or Det. Sgt. Anthony Calabrese.

---

Rebecca Forand may be reached at rforand@southjerseymedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @RebeccaForand. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.