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“Yesterday was Palm Sunday, yet it was anything other than peaceful in the Capital City,'' Gusciora said in a statement.
Trenton's 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew came as authorities announced a third person died of injuries from a spattering of shootings on Sunday.
"Too many took to the parks and streets without regard to the public’s health and well-being,'' Gusciora said. "Moreover, much of the violence can be attributed to unlawful ATV riders, who in at least one incident utilized them in the shootings."
The latest shooting victim, identified as Quamierah Massey, 24, of Trenton, had been clinging to life in critical condition at the hospital. She was pronounced dead Monday.
Massey was among a group of people who gathered on Hoffman Avenue to watch a street fight between two women, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said. She was standing on the sidewalk when the suspect came at her from the street and shot her in the head.
"It was disgusting behavior. It was deplorable," Gusciora said. "Shame on those who were just sitting around watching and not trying to intervene or call police. It was Palm Sunday. Should have spent the day reflecting on how you could be better for your community."
Gusciora said he will ask the City Council to consider a permanent ban on ATVs as well as an increase in fines for people violating the curfew. He also ordered the confiscation of off-road vehicles parked on city roads or operated in city limits, and shut down of any gas stations that sell fuel to them.
Police responded to five shootings in four hours throughout the city, starting about 5 p.m. Sunday at Martin Luther King Park, according to a statement from the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.
The first fatal shooting victim from MLK Park was identified as 20-year-old Frederick Mason of Trenton, the prosecutor's statement said.
A second fatal shooting victim was identified as 30-year-old Dabree Brannon of Trenton, according to the statement.
Investigations are ongoing and no arrests have been made, the prosecutor's statement said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at (609) 989-6406. Tips also can be emailed to mchtftips@mercercounty.org.
"We lost our humanity," Gusciora told the Trentonian in a text message late Sunday. "May be retaliatory. And emotions have just boiled over today."
In an unrelated incident, state investigators are reviewing the death of an emotionally disturbed Trenton man taken into custody by police outside a local hospital on Friday.
Two weeks ago, Trenton had two daylight killings in three days.
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