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Nate Rowell, of New Brunswick, is believed to have fired a weapon while leaving a parking lot of a business on Easton Avenue in Franklin Township on Wednesday, Sept. 13, around 6:45 p.m., Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said.
A Franklin Township resident was driving near Girard Avenue and Easton Avenue when a loud noise was heard. The driver assumed it was debris in the roadway. Upon arriving home, the resident noticed bullet holes in the trunk of their car, police said. Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Franklin Township responded to investigate.
As a result of this investigation, detectives were able to identify Rowell as the driver of the suspect vehicle, which was seen leaving a parking lot of a local business on Easton Avenue.
"Rowell stops his vehicle, opens the driver’s side door and fires two gunshots in the direction of an occupied vehicle parked on Girard Avenue near Easton Avenue," the prosecutor said. "As defendant Rowell discharges his firearm, he struck an unrelated vehicle which was driving by at that time."
Rowell then closed the driver’s side door and left the area. Responding officers found two spent shell casings near the shooting. No injuries were reported.
Rowell, who was lodged in the Middlesex County Jail for an unrelated incident since Sept. 25, was charged with attempted murder, various weapons offenses, and endangering another person.
He was served with a criminal warrant complaint at the Middlesex County Corrections Center on Sept. 28. Rowell will remain lodged pending a detention hearing.
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