One arrested in connection with Fairfield mass shooting

This article was updated with comment from Pat Colligan at 12 p.m. Monday.

Authorities have arrested a Bridgeton man in connection with a weekend mass shooting that killed two and left 12 others injured, some critically.

Kevin K. Dawkins, 36, faces a litany of weapons charges, Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said. Dawkins has not been charged for the shooting itself, though authorities are still reviewing evidence and said such charges could come later.

The investigation is ongoing, and authorities expect to make additional arrests, acting New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan said.

“We fully anticipate the possibility of additional arrests as this case progresses,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. “The sad reality is we’ve developed a playbook for events like this one. We unfortunately have a proven and a thorough process and set of protocols to investigate the scourge of mass shootings.”

They believe the shooting was targeted, not random. Two Bridgeton residents, Kevin Elliot, 30, and Asia Hester, 25, were killed. The identities of the injured individuals are being withheld due to the ongoing investigation.

Authorities are working to track multiple weapons found at the scene.

The shooting occurred at a house party hosting more than 100 people in Fairfield shortly before midnight Saturday.

The New Jersey State policemen’s Benevolent Association on Monday attempted to link the shooting to protests against police killings of black men and women that gripped the state last summer.

“Over 20,000 lives have been lost in the past year in the United States to violence. It is not a coincidence that the rise in violence mirrors the timing of anti-police rhetoric,” NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan said. “Few politicians speak about the rising violence even in their own communities.”

He called for community-police partnerships to address the rise in violence.