EAST BRUNSWICK: On the evening of May 13, 2023, East Brunswick Police responded to the Brunswick Square Mall (755 Highway 18) for disturbances in and around the L.E.A.D. Fest Carnival. During the response, police received a phone call from the SureStay Hotel By Best Western (764 Highway 18) that people were running from the mall because they heard gunshots coming from the area of Habit Burger (751 Highway 18).

Officers responded to the area and initially found no victims or evidence of a shooting. However, a spent shell casing was located in the parking lot of Habit Burger later in the evening.

Shortly after, a parent approached officers and reported an armed robbery. Three (3) juvenile victims were walking together from Habit Burger when a suspect brandished a handgun and demanded their sneakers.

The suspect fled from the area with the victims’ sneakers. He is described as a black male, approximately fifteen (15) years of age, wearing a ski mask. There were no reported injuries that occurred as a result of the robbery. This incident happened in the area of Highway 18 by Cindy Way.

Lastly, the police received a report of a female victim yelling that she was being kidnapped. The female was yelling from inside a black pickup truck in the Brunswick Square Mall parking lot. A check of the area could not locate the suspect vehicle or victim. There were no reports of a missing person or other independent witnesses to the incident.

All incidents remain under investigation, and if anyone has any information, please call the East Brunswick Police Department’s Tips Line at (732) 4EB-TIPS or email tips@ebpd.net.