BREAKING UPDATE (May 19, 8:10 a.m.):
Acting Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello issued a statement early Tuesday identifying the shooting location inside a residence at 109-111 Old Bergen Road. The headline image for this story reflects earlier information that the event took place in Columbia Park. The victims were two Jersey City males, ages 47 and 53; their identities are being withheld pending next-of-kin notification. Both were pronounced dead at Jersey City Medical Center shortly after the shooting, which occurred shortly after 1 a.m. No arrests have been announced. Mayor James Solomon called the incident "isolated" and said authorities "do not believe there is a broader threat to the community."
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Reports of gunfire drew police to 109-111 Old Bergen Road shortly after 1:00 a.m. on Monday. Officers found two men, ages 47 and 53, with gunshot wounds near Columbia Park in Jersey City's Greenville neighborhood. Both men were rushed to Jersey City Medical Center; authorities later confirmed the men had died.
Hudson County Prosecutor's Office detectives and Jersey City police secured the scene. Authorities closed Winfield Avenue for several hours and reopened it the same morning. Acting Prosecutor Wayne Mello announced early Tuesday that no arrests had been made.
Two fatal violent incidents have struck Greenville within 15 days. The first ended in an arrest: Kyshawn Foster, 26, was charged with murder and weapons possession in connection with the May 3 fatal stabbing of Kareem Mack, 47, in a domestic violence incident on Dwight Street near Bergen Avenue.
Mayor James Solomon called the May 18 shooting "an isolated incident" and stated that authorities "do not believe there is a broader threat to the community." He announced the city would "expand our undercover officers in hotspots to ensure the safety of residents on every block in the city."
The May 18 shooting brought Jersey City's 2026 homicide victim count to three. The 2025 year-end homicide total for Jersey City was not available in public records as of publication. The only confirmed 2025 killing was a Jan. 3 shooting, according to Patch. The city recorded six homicides in all of 2024, the lowest number in recorded history, according to the city's official December 2024 press release. Shooting incidents declined from 49 in 2023 to 29 in 2024.
Public Safety Director James Shea, who oversaw the 2024 decline, resigned effective Jan. 14, 2026. The City Council passed a vote of no confidence 6-1(2) in March 2025, according to TapInto.net and the HudPost. Jersey City Police Superior Officers Association President Pawel Wojtowicz wrote that Shea "ruined one of the best police departments in this state."
Mayor Solomon replaced Shea with Anthony Ambrose, a former Newark public safety director who managed approximately 1,960 employees, according to a 2021 Department of Justice press release. Ambrose previously led Newark through compliance with a federal Department of Justice consent decree, cutting homicides 44% and robberies 70% during his tenure, according to Hudson County View. Ambrose took office promising to reduce gun violence, address force morale and recruitment and prepare Jersey City for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Just over four months later two fatal violent incidents have struck the same neighborhood within 15 days.
The department had 779 officers when Mayor Steve Fulop took office in 2013; that number surpassed 950 in 2022. The count later dipped below 900 for the first time in four years. Citywide, the department shed nearly 100 officers between 2021 and 2024, which officials attributed to recruitment challenges.
Solomon, who succeeded Fulop in January, announced on January 16 that Jersey City would hire 30 new officers through a Hudson County Police Academy class. No public record confirms they graduated or deployed. The 2026 temporary budget allocates $30 million for police salaries and $1 million for other expenses without specifying headcount increases or ward-level distribution. Ward-specific staffing data for Greenville was not available in public records.
The Greenville neighborhood has 44 percent of children living below the federal poverty line, a rate higher than 91.6 percent of U.S. neighborhoods, according to NeighborhoodScout. Nearly half of the neighborhood’s residents, 47.7 percent, were born outside the United States. Broader Rutgers University research across Greenville census tracts shows median household income ranging from $30,900 to $100,300, with poverty rates between 3% and 30%.
Mayor Solomon issued a statement on May 17 praising recent arrests in three separate Jersey City shooting cases. "These arrests show the value of intelligence-driven policing and the importance of officers who are actively working to prevent further violence before it happens," he said. The administration has used similar language in public safety reorganizations, according to the Hudson County View. Solomon’s statement came less than a day before the shooting, which occurred early the following morning.
Acting Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello oversees both of Jersey City's 2026 homicide investigations. In a statement issued early Tuesday, Mello said the shooting occurred at 109-111 Old Bergen Road and identified the victims as two Jersey City males, ages 47 and 53. Their names are being withheld pending next-of-kin notification. His office supervises approximately 70 prosecutors and more than 100 detectives.
By Monday morning, Winfield Avenue had reopened and the crime scene was cleared. The two men who died inside the Old Bergen Road residence remained unnamed pending next-of-kin notification. No arrests had been announced.
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Sources
• Caitlyn Ireland, Patch, "Double Fatal Shooting Under Investigation In Jersey City" (May 18, 2026)
• Staff, News 12 New Jersey, "2 men killed in Jersey City shooting" (May 18, 2026)
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• Dan Israel, Hudson County View, "Solomon & Ambrose bringing Jersey City PD out of 'Stone Age' with major reorg" (March 19, 2026)
• Jersey City Mayor's Office, "Mayor Solomon Announces 30 New Police Officers" (January 16, 2026)
• Jersey City CivicWeb, "2026 Temporary Budget" (January 15, 2026)
• NeighborhoodScout, "Columbia Park Neighborhood Profile" (2024)
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• Wayne Mello, Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, statement on Jersey City double homicide (May 19, 2026)