New Jersey murder suspect spotted crying at bar after allegedly shooting man at housing complex, police say

A suspect who was crying at a New Jersey bar after he allegedly killed a man on New Year’s Eve asked strangers for a ride back to the area of the crime, police said.

Around 7 p.m. on Dec. 31, Shannon Williams, 25, allegedly gunned down 47-year-old Emanuel Ross outside Donnelly Homes, an affordable housing community in Trenton.

Police located the victim “lying on the sidewalk suffering from gunshot wounds to the head, back and face,” Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said, NJ.com reported.

Ross was pronounced dead from his injuries at an area hospital.

Authorities recovered three shell casings at the scene and reviewed surveillance footage from the Donnelly Homes complex that allegedly shows the shooter dressed in a green hoodie and dark jeans and baseball cap and hanging out at the complex hours before the incident, the Trentonian reported, citing a probable cause affidavit.

Police said a confidential informant came forward and claimed Williams killed Ross, and detectives tracked the suspect to Benny’s Bar. Officers then stopped a sedan that Williams was a passenger in and questioned the vehicle’s other two occupants.

According to the pair, Williams, who they reportedly didn’t know, was crying at the bar. He asked if they could take him to Donnelly Homes and he never spoke during the car ride, the two claimed to police.

Williams faces charges of murder, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, among other offenses.

Police have not released a possible motive for the shooting.