3 days ago
NJ man fatally shoots girlfriend in East Orange, leads cops on chase in Delaware
A New Jersey man fatally shot his girlfriend and then fled to Delaware, leading officers on an hour-long car chase before he was finally captured, authorities said Monday.
According to police, Darian Ficklin, 29, fatally shot 44-year-old Shalamar Brown at a home in East Orange on Sunday night and then immediately fled the scene, the Daily Voice reported.
Brown was found suffering gunshot wounds to the chest, abdomen and thigh, investigators said. She was taken to University Hospital in Newark, where she was pronounced dead.
Ficklin meanwhile made it all the way south to Delaware in the wake of the shooting. Delaware State Police spotted him Sunday night, but he sped away and led them on a lengthy car chase, reported.
Ficklin then drove back into New Jersey and was eventually captured by New Jersey State Police in Camden County. He has since been charged with first-degree murder and multiple weapons offenses, according to News 12 New Jersey.
Sunday's night incident was not the only case of deadly domestic violence in New Jersey in June. Fernando Mercado, 42, fatally shot his girlfriend, Claribel Torres, and her 10-year-old daughter Evangelina Velasquez at their home in Hamilton on June 5 before dying by suicide, according to police.
