Francis Medina, 37, was shot and killed in a Belleville, New Jersey parking lot on Saturday, December 16, 2023, at about 2:00 p.m. The shooting happened outside an apartment building on Mill Street while Medina was with two of his children. Officers found him with multiple gunshot wounds; he was taken to Clara Maass Medical Center and pronounced dead a short time later.

A 4-year-old boy with Medina was also struck by a bullet and taken to a nearby hospital, where he was reported in stable condition. Witnesses said a car sped away from the lot after the gunfire. Investigators from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force processed the scene; a red minivan with the key in the driver’s side door was towed as part of the inquiry. No motive has been released, no suspects have been publicly identified, and no arrests have been announced.

If anyone saw the shooting, the fleeing vehicle, or has other information about what happened that afternoon on Mill Street, contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.