By: Richard L. Smith
A 22-year-old woman is recovering from a gunshot wound after being caught in the crossfire of a violent altercation late Monday night at a gas station on Bloomfield Avenue, according to information released by Montclair Police.
Around 11:24 p.m., officers were dispatched to the Shell gas station at 115 Bloomfield Avenue after receiving multiple reports of a large fight and possible shots fired.
Responding units found a crowd at the scene and evidence of a disturbance, including a blood trail, but no shooting victim.
Soon after, police were alerted by Mountainside Hospital, where a female gunshot victim had arrived on her own for treatment.
The woman, a Montclair resident, told investigators she had been in the gas station parking lot when a dispute broke out between two men.
She said she was not involved in the altercation but heard a single gunshot and immediately felt pain in her leg. A Good Samaritan at the scene transported her to the hospital, where she was treated for a non-life-threatening injury.
According to additional information from nearby agencies, Glen Ridge police also reported hearing gunfire in the vicinity around the same time.
The incident remains under active investigation. Authorities are urging anyone with information to contact Detective Jamar Jones of the Montclair Police Department.