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Black Friday Kicks Off With Fatal Shooting At Hamilton Mall In New Jersey

By Angelica N. Sumter
Published on: 06:36 PST, Nov 25, 2016

A 21-year-old new father and college student, Demond Cottman, of Clayton, New Jersey, was killed and his brother was injured during a shooting at Hamilton Mall on Black Friday, according to the Press of Atlantic City.

At around 1:05 a.m. police officials arrived at the Hamilton Mall after receiving calls about a shooting and discovered Cottman and his 26-year-old brother, Shadi Cottman, shot in a parking lot near the Macy’s Department Store, which was not opened during the time of the shooting.

Apparently, hundreds of locals, including residents in other locations, gathered at the Hamilton Mall, waiting for the stores to open to get first dibs on the Black Friday sales but the camp out took a deadly turn when a shooting broke out in the parking lot.

Cottman, who was a “goal-oriented electrical apprentice,” was shot multiple times and died at the scene.

Paramedics transported his brother to the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center-City Divison, where he remains in stable condition after being shot in the leg.

After learning Cottman was killed and his brother was injured during a shooting at the Hamilton Mall on Black Friday, family and friends gather at his father’s, Demond Tally, home who came outside to speak with reporters but appeared to be shaken up, saying “I don’t know what to tell you. It doesn’t matter now.”

Less than seven hours after the fatal Black Friday shooting occurred, Macy’s opened its doors, but staff placed signs in front the store that indicated what transpired just hours earlier.

Jennifer Morales, 34, of Atlantic City, who was among those preparing for Black Friday deals and promotions at the Hamilton Mall, stated that before she began shopping, there was a lot of talking about the fatal shooting. She said: “It’s shocking, especially after the holidays. Nobody wants to bury their child.”

Morales added that before heading to work at a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant near the Hamilton Mall, she wanted to partake in Black Friday shopping but was stunned to see that the area was not blocked off after the shooting.

Some Black Friday shoppers had just arrived at the Hamilton Mall and were stunned to find that a shooting occurred not long before. Neil Saunders, 41, who was walking with his daughter towards the Macy’s entrance, said “There was a shooting? We’re out of here” after learning about the incident.

“It’s sad,” said one shopper on the scene of the shooting. “We’ve been doing this, me and my girls, for probably about ten years now, just for the fun of going out – a girl’s night and trying to get some special sales and it’s getting scary now.”

“It’s a tragedy,” another mall shopper stated. “It’s very scary you know, you’re starting off the holiday season and you’re excited about the upcoming times with family and now there’s going to be a family who will be missing people and their holidays will never be the same.”

Following the deadly shooting, Hamilton Mall Management released a statement, informing the public about the incident and ensuring that law enforcement is handling the investigation. “Our thoughts and prayers are extended to victims and their families,” the statement reads.

New Jersey police officials have yet to release what prompted the Black Friday shooting but have stated that “more than 15 evidence markers were still laid down in the parking lot and an SUV with bullet holes was towed away early Friday morning.

If anyone has any information regarding the deadly Black Friday shooting, you are urged to contact the Prosecutor’s Office at 609 909 7666 or Hamilton Township police at 609 625 2700.

An investigation into the Hamilton Mall shooting is underway.

[Featured Image By Chalabala/iStock]

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