1 dead, 4 hurt in New Jersey highway shootout

Emergency personnel attend an injured person as police investigate after a deadly shooting in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., Monday Aug. 29, 2016. A deadly shootout on a New Jersey highway left multiple injured. (Mike Miller/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. – A shootout on a New Jersey highway on Monday afternoon left one person dead, four others hurt and a sport utility vehicle riddled with bullet holes.

The people in the two cars knew each other and the incident was not a random act, state police Capt. Stephen Jones said. He said that no other vehicles were hit by bullets.

Police said they received reports of a shooting on the Atlantic City Expressway, followed a short time later by calls for medical assistance about 5 miles away on the Garden State Parkway and at a convenience store 2 miles away.

Authorities investigated a car on the parkway in Egg Harbor Township and an SUV covered with bullet holes in the parking lot of a Wawa store near a highway exit.

There were bullet holes in the front windshield and on the passenger side door of the SUV, and its other windows appeared to have been shot out. One rear tire was gone, and there were drag marks in the area.

Witnesses said that the people in the SUV sought assistance from passers-by as soon as they entered the parking lot.

"The driver said he was shot," Erwin Ashworth told WCAU-TV in Philadelphia. "The passenger was hanging from the window. ... He said everybody was shot at least a couple times."

Jones said that police recovered a "number of guns" involved in the incident at an undisclosed third location nearby. He also said that police are also investigating whether a third car was involved in the incident based on witness statements.

"If this in fact was a moving situation where gunfire was being aimed at cars that were moving, (it was) obviously extremely dangerous to everyone involved, not just the intended targets," Jones said.

The victims were taken to hospitals for treatment of undisclosed injuries. Authorities said at least one victim had "serious" injuries.

Investigations caused some traffic delays on the parkway and parts of the eastbound side of the expressway that connects the suburbs of Philadelphia with Atlantic City were closed Monday night as police investigated.