OLD BRIDGE, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey prosecutor says it doesn't appear that the two co-workers who were shot and killed by an employee at a supermarket today were "specifically targeted."
Instead, the prosecutor says "everybody in the store" was a target when the man, wearing military clothing, opened fire on more than a dozen fellow employees, killing the two before taking his own life.
According to the prosecutor, the employee -- an ex-Marine -- left his shift at a Pathmark store around 3:30 a.m., and returned a half-hour later to the closed store with a handgun and an AK-47 assault rifle. About 12 to 14 workers were still there.
He says the man fired at least 16 rounds from the rifle at the first workers he saw, killing an 18-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man as other workers hid.
Authorities aren't publicly identifying the gunman. But a law enforcement official who was briefed on the investigation identified him as Terence Tyler, who was discharged from the Marines two years ago.
A Marine spokeswoman says Tyler was an infantryman who never served overseas.
A Facebook page for a Terence Tyler who says he served in the Marines on the exact dates that the shooter was there has this slogan: "Be optimistic. All the people you hate are going to eventually die."
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227-a-05-(Bruce Kaplan, Middlesex County prosecutor, with reporters)-"entered the store"-Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan says the shooter doesn't seem to have targeted anyone in particular. (31 Aug 2012)
<<CUT *227 (08/31/12)>> 00:05 "entered the store"
225-a-10-(Bruce Kaplan, Middlesex County prosecutor, with reporters)-"in the Pathmark"-Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan says the shooting took place in a closed Pathmark supermarket. (31 Aug 2012)
<<CUT *225 (08/31/12)>> 00:10 "in the Pathmark"
GRAPHICSBANK: PATHMARK supermarket logo, graphic element on black (31 Aug 2012)
APPHOTO NJRS107: An Old Bridge, N.J. police officer stands in front of the home of the alleged supermarket gunman, Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Officials say the supermarket employee killed two people at the store early Friday and then fatally shot himself. Authorities say he opened fire on employees he saw when he walked into the Pathmark store. The store's front windows were shattered by gunfire. The motive is being investigated.(AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (31 Aug 2012)
<<APPHOTO NJRS107 (08/31/12)>>
APPHOTO NJRS105: An Old Bridge police officer talks to an employee of TGI Friday's in Old Bridge N.J., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Officials say a supermarket employee killed two people at the store early Friday and then fatally shot himself. Authorities say he opened fire on employees he saw when he walked into the Pathmark store. The store's front windows were shattered by gunfire. The motive is being investigated.(AP Photo/Rich Schultz) (31 Aug 2012)
<<APPHOTO NJRS105 (08/31/12)>>
