Multiple gunmen walked up to a block party in Trenton, New Jersey, and fired into the crowd early on August 30, 2026, killing two people and sending eight others to the hospital. No one has been arrested, and authorities have not released a motive.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office is leading the case with the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the Trenton Police Department. Detectives have canvassed for witnesses and reviewed surveillance video from a gathering that officials say drew roughly 100 people to one residential block.
How the Shooting Unfolded
Family members and friends described the gathering as a neighborhood cookout. It came together on the night of August 29 on the 100 block of Locust Street, officials said. According to the prosecutor’s office, several suspects walked up to the party shortly after midnight, at about 12:23 a.m., and opened fire on the people gathered there.
About 150 people were in the crowd when the first shots rang out, according to a woman who said she was at the cookout and asked not to be named. The gunfire seemed to stop after an initial burst, she said, and then started again. She did not know how many people were shooting.
Police dispatch audio recorded about 15 separate calls reporting gunshot victims on Locust Street. Officers who arrived found multiple victims, and the crime scene ran the length of the block. More than 50 spent shell casings were collected by Detectives, and several vehicles were damaged by gunfire. Ewing and Hamilton Township officers also responded to help.
Ambulances and private vehicles carried the wounded to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, two miles from the scene. Tape sealed off one entrance to the hospital that morning, and a damaged vehicle left at the emergency room entrance was towed away. A woman outside the medical center said her nephew had been shot in the head.
Two Killed, Eight Hospitalized
Ten people in all were shot, and two of them died. Both victims were from Trenton and were identified by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office as Tyasiah West, 33, and Anthony Howlett, 42.
Relatives have given a different name for the man who was killed. In a September 2 report, family members identified him as Yahsim Howlett, 42, and gave “Anthony Howlett” as the name of his surviving son. His mother, Lea Howlett, told a local TV station: “My son did not deserve this. You have broken me. You have broken my grandson.”
West was a mother of three. A friend who identified herself as “Star” and had known her 15 years told NBC10 on August 31: “It just seems unreal… that her life had to be cut short for something that she had nothing to do with… heartbreaking.”
Two women and six men made up the eight survivors taken to the hospital, and they ranged in age from 23 to 43. Four of them were treated and released. Three men — ages 23, 29 and 32 — remained in critical condition, while stable condition was the listing given for a 42-year-old woman.
The casualty counts shifted in the hours after the shooting. A statement issued that morning by the office of Trenton Mayor W. Reed Gusciora put the toll at two dead and nine wounded. That 11-shot figure travelled widely before the prosecutor’s office settled on 10 shot, eight of them wounded. A crowd of about 200 was the mayor’s description of what he called a large, unauthorized gathering of adults, an estimate larger than the roughly 100 the prosecutor’s office has given.
Community members said Howlett had been working to rebuild his life after coming home from incarceration, and that the recognition for that work came only hours before he was killed. “He was honored earlier that day for being an activist, for being a good person,” said Perry Shaw of the Trenton Community Street Team. The honor came at the Operation Capital City awards ceremony, founded by his cousin Omar Aikens, who said in a September 2 report: “I tried to create something for us to be proud of, give us our flowers while we’re here, and it’s sad how it ended.”
His brother, Kyzir Carmichael, told the same station on September 2 that Howlett had arrived at the party moments before the gunfire: “I literally talked to him for three minutes, and three minutes later a young lady is telling me he is on the ground fighting for his life.”
Questions Over Permits and Police Presence
Gusciora met with reporters on Sunday afternoon and traced the violence to an unauthorized event that spiraled beyond control. Trenton requires a permit, an approved street closure and hired security for large gatherings, he said. Any resident who wants to hold a block party should come to the city and the police first, he urged. “Ten victims is unconscionable,” he told reporters. “This is not about criminalizing people for gathering together. It is about recognizing the difference between a gathering and hundreds of people occupying a residential street without authorization.”
Trenton Police Director Steve Wilson said officers had watched the crowd grow through the night and that a street supervisor ordered extra attention be paid to the gathering. “I do believe that there was actually a unit present when the shooting happened,” he said. “Unfortunately, the crowd was larger than the police presence and even sometimes with the presence of police, these things happen.”
Not everyone in the neighborhood is satisfied with that answer. Neighbors said officers should have broken up the party well before the gunfire started. “You going to tell me that they couldn’t shut this down?” Trenton resident Grace Fernandez said. “They knew that they didn’t have a permit, so why blame the people?” Fernandez lives three blocks away.
Addressing people who live in the Wilbur section and East Trenton, Gusciora said community outreach teams would go into both neighborhoods to talk with residents, learn what they had heard and try to prevent any retaliation. “You should not have to accept this as normal,” the mayor said. “Your block should not become an event venue for hundreds of people without notice or authorization.”
Outreach in Wilbur and East Trenton
An officer on the corner does not always deter someone bent on destruction, Wilson said for his part. Speaking up can prevent the next shooting, Gusciora has told residents, pressing them to report whatever they know.
Help from the public is still being sought by Investigators. Anyone who has information or video from the 100 block of Locust Street is being directed to Detective Jennifer Eyster of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force, through the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. In an August 31 update, investigators asked people with information to call 609-989-6406, and said tips are also accepted anonymously online.
