Man Shot Woman With Crossbow At Bergen County Pet Shop: Prosecutors

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Hasbrouck Heights man has been charged in connection with the shooting of a pet shop employee with a crossbow on Monday evening, prosecutors said.

Raymond M. Carey, 53, has been charged with first-degree attempted murder, said Bergen County prosecutors.

Prosecutors said he was apprehended at 18 Route 9 in Pine Beach, which is the address of a Dunkin' Donuts.

As previously reported, police in Saddle Brook responded to a 911 call just before 6 p.m. Monday, saying that a woman was seriously injured at her place of employment — a business on Route 46 East.

The pet shop, Birds by Joe II, said the employee was recovering.

Police and prosecutors investigated and determined that Carey, a previous customer of the shop, entered and shot the woman with a crossbow. However, she was able to disarm him of the bow, prosecutors said.

"The victim ran from the store to seek help at a neighboring business, while the suspect fled the scene of the crime in a vehicle that was parked outside the business," prosecutors said.

They were able to identify Carey's car and alert other law enforcement agencies, prosecutors said.

On Thursday, Carey was found and arrested in Pine Beach, N.J. with the assistance of the FBI, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, the Bergen County Regional S.W.A.T. Team, the Saddle Brook Police Department, and the Manchester Township Police Department, prosecutors said.

Besides attempted murder, Carey was charged with weapons possession and obstructing the administration of law, prosecutors said.

He was taken to the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office to await a first appearance in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, prosecutors said.

Earlier Reporting

The pet shop Birds by Joe identified the victim as a woman who works there on Monday, and said that she "is recovering and investigations are underway."

Detectives are investigating the case as an attempted homicide, they said.

In an unusual twist, the pet shop is the same one that reported last month that someone stole a $7,000 grey parrot out of the same employee's hands. The parrot was returned days later after someone purchased the bird and then called in a tip, they said in an update.

The Saddle Brook police said on Feb. 3 that they had issued an arrest warrant for a Paterson man in connect with the bird theft.

Bird Store To Reopen

The bird store said they will reopen on Friday.

"Prayers for a full recovery for this very nice woman," said one commenter.