Editor's Note (July 12, 2024, 7:57 a.m.): Wildwood police said in a social media post that shooting suspect William Hoyle was arrested "without incident" on Thursday July 11, 2024.
An international student is fighting for her life after she was hit by a stray bullet in Wildwood, New Jersey, officials announced Wednesday.
On Tuesday, July 9, shortly before 10:30 p.m., police responded to the Cattle 'n Clover Restaurant along the 3800 block of Pacific Avenue for a report of shots fired.
When police arrived they found a woman suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. She was taken to the hospital where she is currently in critical condition.
Surveillance video from the restaurant showed a man, later identified by police as William Hoyle, firing a gun and shooting the victim in the head.
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Police said the woman was an innocent bystander and not Hoyle's intended target. The surveillance video also showed Hoyle running after another man and shooting at him multiple times, according to the criminal complaint.
Local
A law enforcement source confirmed with NBC10 the victim is in her early 20's while a spokesperson confirmed she is an international student who works at Morey's Piers in Wildwood.
"We are shocked and deeply concerned about one of our employees, who was the victim of gun violence last night. The young woman, an international student, was off-duty when the incident occurred," the Morey's Piers spokesperson wrote on Wednesday. "We are a family and we are working to provide support to our employee and her family during this incredibly challenging time. The news has deeply affected all of us, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to assist her and her loved ones. Our hearts and prayers are with them."
The search for William Hoyle
Investigators obtained additional surveillance video from an apartment complex on the 4700 block of Pacific Avenue in Wildwood. The video shows Hoyle arriving at an associate's apartment, according to the criminal complaint. In the footage, Hoyle is wearing the same black shorts with a red Nike logo and shoes that he wore during the shooting, investigators said.
Police then executed a search warrant at the Pacific Avenue apartment and found the shorts Hoyle was wearing as well as red shoes in a recycling bin behind the building, according to the criminal complaint.
Detectives also searched the 200 block of Spicer Avenue in Wildwood and obtained surveillance video from a restaurant showing a man who matched Hoyle's description throwing a gun into a sewer drain on the north west corner of Spicer and Atlantic avenues, investigators said. Police later recovered the weapon from the sewer drain, a Polymer 80 Inc handgun with a high capacity magazine, according to the criminal complaint.
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