NJ Teen Accidentally Shot, Killed Friend In South Jersey Home: Police

PEMBERTON, NJ - An 18-year-old Pemberton Township resident has been charged with fatally shooting his friend in a Maple Shade home on Friday, authorities said.

Jah-son Jones, of Hargrove Avenue, is facing reckless manslaughter, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon charges, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw and Maple Shade Police Chief Christopher J. Fletcher announced.

He was lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly on Friday pending a detention hearing in Superior Court, Bradshaw and Fletcher said.

Nasiah Carson, 19, was transported from his residence in the 300 block of South Coles Avenue to Cooper University Medical Center in Camden after the shooting at around 3:30 a.m., police said. He was pronounced dead shortly upon arrival.

“The investigation revealed that the shooting appears to have been accidental,” Bradshaw and Fletcher said. “Jones and Carson were playing with a handgun they believed was unloaded when Jones pointed it at Carson and squeezed the trigger. A cartridge was in the chamber, and the firearm discharged, striking the victim.”

An autopsy is set to be performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood.