OLD BRIDGE, n.j. — An ex-Marine wearing military clothing opened fire at a New Jersey supermarket early Friday, killing two of his co-workers and himself as other terrified store employees hid in the back, authorities said.
The 23-year-old man left his shift at a Pathmark store in Old Bridge Township about 3:30 a.m. and returned a half-hour later to the closed store with a handgun and an AK-47 assault rifle, said Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan. About 12 to 14 workers were still there.
The man fired at least 16 rounds from the rifle at the first workers he saw, killing 18-year-old Christina LoBrutto and 24-year-old Bryan Breen as other workers hid, officials said.
“I do not believe that they were specifically targeted,” Kaplan said. “I believe everybody in the store was a target.”
The gunman then killed himself, Kaplan said.
He did not release the suspect’s name, but a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation identified him as Terence Tyler, who was discharged from the Marines in 2010. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because his agency is not in charge of the investigation.
Tyler, an infantryman from Brooklyn, never served overseas, said Marine spokeswoman Capt. Kendra Motz. She wouldn’t comment on the circumstances of his discharge.
The top of a Facebook page for a Terence Tyler who says he served in the Marines the same dates as the shooter has this slogan: “Be optimistic. All the people you hate are going to eventually die.” The Associated Press
