Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino today announced that Charles Gatling, 21, of Union was fatally shot last night at approximately 9:20 p.m. in the 100 block of 40th Street in Irvington. A second man, Djuan Cirino, 19, of Union sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound.
The two men, traveling in a Pontiac Grand AM, stopped in Irvington allegedly to purchase marijuana. For reasons unknown at this time an unidentified man fired into the vehicle and fled.
Responding to a report of shots fired, Irvington police were dispatched to the 40th Street area. When they arrived on the scene, Gatling was found lying in the street suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at 9:40 p.m. The preliminary investigation indicates he was shot in the vehicle he was driving.
Some time later, Cirino, a passenger in the vehicle, walked into Beth Israel Hospital in Newark suffering from a gunshot wound in the ankle. He was treated and released.
The investigation is ongoing. The next of kin have been notified.
