No Arrests In Edison Gas Station Fatal Shooting: Prosecutor

EDISON, NJ — The suspect in the shooting murder of a gas station clerk during an early-morning robbery in Edison is still at-large despite earlier reports saying an arrest was made, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey said Thursday morning.

John Bertram, 38, from Fords, was fatally shot around 4 a.m. while working at the Speedway Gas Station on Amboy Ave, Carey said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests have been made, Carey said. An earlier "unauthorized statement" sent out by Perth Amboy police erroneously said someone had been arrested, but police are still searching for the suspect, Carey said.

"While someone was being questioned regarding the fatal shooting at the Speedway Gas Station in Edison, he has been released from custody," Carey said. Police are looking for a man of "slight build" who is wearing light colored pants, possibly jeans, a maroon hoodie, a mask and gloves.

The suspect entered the gas station and held Bertram up with a handgun, Carey said. Bertram handed over the cash register drawer and the suspect fired a single shot, killing Bertram, Carey said.

“My thoughts and prayers, and those of the Edison community, are with the victim’s family,” said Mayor Thomas Lankey. “I have confidence in our police department’s investigative capabilities – working alongside county prosecutor’s detectives – to find and bring the perpetrator of this heinous crime to justice.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Loren Long of the Edison Police Department at (732) 248-7531, or Detective David Abromaitis of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732)745- 4436.

Image: Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office