Sciasia Calhoun was identified as the young mother who was shot to death in a random shooting while driving down Route 33 in New Jersey.
It’s believed that the suspect – who has not yet been named – opened fire randomly at a passing car, which turned out to be Calhoun’s, while standing on the side of the road, according to ABC New York. Calhoun was from Freehold.
Prosecutors say last night’s shooting victim has been identified as 24-year-old, Sciasia Calhoun, from #Freehold. @FiOS1NewsNJ
Authorities are looking into whether Calhoun was murdered by a possible “serial shooter.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Calhoun’s Toddler Was in the Car When She Was Randomly Shot
A woman is dead and a suspect is in custody in #Freehold shooting … are police investigating a possible serial shooter after other #NJ incidents? t.co/O0bKX5Psis
It was around 11:45 p.m. on May 3, 2018, and Calhoun was driving on Route 33 in Freehold Township when the bullet flew into her vehicle.
Her boyfriend and 1-year-old child were in the car with her, The Associated Press reported, but they were unharmed.
The bullet struck Calhoun, fatally wounding her. She died later in the hospital. She was 24-years-old.
2. A Suspect is Under Arrest & Being Investigated for Other Random Shootings
Sciasia Calhoun
Although police have not revealed any additional details, including the man’s identity, they did reveal that a suspect is under arrest in Calhoun’s murder.
Authorities are investigating whether the same man might have been responsible for two other recent shootings in the same county.
A spokesman for the prosecutor called him a possible “serial shooter,” NBC New York reported. “This is a bad guy,” the spokesman told the television station.
3. Calhoun Worked as a Home Health Aide
Sciasia Calhoun
According to The New York Post, the victim “held a certification as a home health aide.”
“Rest in peace sciasia Calhoun gone way too soon,” wrote a woman who knew her from around town on Facebook.
On LinkedIn, Calhoun described herself as “Hospitality Professional” for “Benchmark Human Services.” The page hasn’t been updated since 2014, though, and nothing is visible on her public Facebook page. She did post a series of photos on an old MySpace page.
4. Calhoun Was Remembered as an All Around Good Person
Sciasia Calhoun
Friends told The Asbury Park Press that Calhoun was “was funny, down-to-earth and all around a good person.”
The Monmouth prosecutor’s office wrote on Twitter on May 4, 2018 that the threat to the public had passed. “BREAKING: Regarding the shooting last night on Rt. 33 in Freehold Township, a suspect is in custody and there is no further threat to the public. More details to follow… #mcponj,” the office wrote.
5. A Local Barber Died in a Similar Shooting Four Miles Away
A half-mile-long trail of 9 mm shell casings on Route 18 led to where Earl “Everlasting” Sanders’ Mercedes crashed into a guardrail. t.co/fkcle2ewXE
A man died in one of the other shootings. Five days earlier and four miles away from where Calhoun died, “Earl ‘Everlasting’ Sanders, 53, of Neptune was fatally shot as he drove on Route 18 in Colts Neck,” reported The New York Post.
Sanders was a barber who was shot while driving to a birthday party and was planning to give free haircuts to children, according to The Asbury Press.
In yet another of the shootings, police had written on social media: “On Saturday April 28th at 2330 hrs. a subject reported to the Holmdel Police that his car was struck by a handgun round in the rear trunk while traveling north bound on South Holmdel Road at approximately 0210 hrs. earlier that day.”