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Asbury Park teen dies

Friday, October 20, 2006

Eyewitness News

(Asbury Park - WABC, October 20, 2006) (WABC) -- Police continue to search for a person who shot 18-year-old Tylik Pugh in the head near an Asbury Park High School.

Pugh who was shot on Wednesday died last night.

Officials are saying they don't know if the shooting Wednesday was gang related. They say it could be part of a community rivalry.

The incident led to classes being shut down Thursday and Friday. Authorities say it's because the schools do not have metal detectors.

The shooting happened on the corner of Summerfield and Prospect avenues.

Officials say Tylik Pugh, an Asbury Park High School student, was shot in the head. He is currently on life support at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune only to save his organs for possible transplant.

Relatives of the victim couldn't hold back tears, knowing they have a tough decision to make.

"This should be a wake up call, cause somebody so good, loved so much, had to go through this," Pugh's Aunt, Tiffany Wilson, said. "And it's causing my family a lot of grief."

According to residents, the section of Asbury Park has become a haven for gang activity and shootings.

Now, there are fears of retaliation that have forced school officials to shut down schools.

The community is trying to come to grips with shooting, the third that has rocked the area in the last week.

Pugh was shot less than one block away from the middle school, and teachers and students heard the gunfire. Those kids were being urged to stay indoors, but some argue it is safer in the schools than on the streets.

"It's a lot easier to send our police to go into five school buildings than it is to patrol all the streets we've got," Asbury Park Councilman Jim Keady said.

"This is paradise in hell," resident Clayton Sandifer said. "Now you got 300 kids running the streets. This is a problem now...Kids aren't graduating, kids aren't being productive like they could be."

Sandifer was the victim of a robbery and shooting, in which he was struck in the ankle. He knows how serious the situation is in the area, but he says political leaders aren't doing enough to protect the citizens.

Thursday, the police presence was high in the area. But residents say violence is still a concern.

"It's terrible," resident Angela Gardner said. "They closed down all the schools. They need to get more cops out here. It's ridiculous. They need to stop all this violence, all this black violence is terrible."

There are some 3,000 students in the Asbury Park school system, and all five schools are closed.

Governor Jon Corzine commented on the shooting, saying school officials did the right thing in locking down the schools.

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