The son of the fire chief of a New Jersey city was shot and killed in a robbery early Thursday, the man's family says.
Hudson County prosecutors say that Darcell Rivers, 35, was shot in the head on Fulton Avenue in Jersey City at about 3:45 a.m. Rivers, who was living in Providence, Rhode Island, and was in town for a visit, was taken to the hospital, where he died.
Rivers is the son of Jersey City Fire Chief Darren Rivers. The fire chief told NBC 4 New York that his son told his girlfriend, "I think I am being robbed" on the phone just before he was killed.
Darren Rivers told The Jersey Journal that his son was in town visiting his children and mother and was walking back home from a friend's house when he was robbed and shot.
"I grew up in this city and it's just too much," Darren Rivers said. "The senseless killing has got to stop."
Darren Rivers told the newspaper that his son graduated from Johnson and Wales University and was a chef. He has four children, ages 2, 3, 4, and 13.
Darcell Rivers' mother told The Jersey Journal that she closed the door on investigators who came to her home Thursday morning.
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"Homicide came to my house this morning and I closed the door on them," she said. "When you hear homicide, you already know ... We want the person who did this to get justice... This is just senseless."
No arrests have been made in the case, prosecutors say.
"First and foremost, we extend our condolences to the Rivers family during this difficult time," city spokeswoman Jennifer Morill said. "We are working with the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office on some significant leads to apprehend the individuals responsible."
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Unit at 201-915-1345.
