The suspected gunman in a Jersey City shooting that killed one person and wounded two others has been arrested.
Joseph Del Valle, a 36-year-old Hoboken resident, was cuffed Tuesday in Jersey City, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday.
Del Valle was charged with murder in the killing of Christoph Terrero Marte, 33, on March 9. He was also charged with two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the two wounded victims.
Another man, Francisco Salcedo, had already been arrested in connection with the shooting, according to the prosecutor’s office. However, Salcedo, 42, was only charged with a single count of aggravated assault. A Jersey City resident, Salcedo was arrested on March 11, authorities said.
The shooting occurred around 6:30 a.m. on March 9 in Jersey City’s McGinley Square neighborhood, just three miles west of Manhattan’s Financial District.
Officers responded to reports of shots fired, but by the time they arrived all three victims had been transported to Jersey City Medical Center in private vehicles.
Marte, a Jersey City resident, was pronounced dead about an hour later. The wounded victims were identified only as a 31-year-old Jersey City man and a 28-year-old Union City man. Authorities said their injuries were not life-threatening.
Police have not publicly speculated on a motive for the shooting, and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office did not say what evidence led to the arrests of Del Valle and Salcedo.
Del Valle was booked into Hudson County jail on Tuesday, and his first court appearance is still pending, prosecutors said. In addition to the murder and aggravated assault counts, he also faces two weapons charges.
Marte’s death was the first homicide in Jersey City in 2024. The city reported a historic low in homicides last year, recording just 10 killings.
“This year, we had the lowest number of homicides Jersey City has ever seen since records have been kept,” Mayor Steven Fulop said in December. “We’re making big progress, and we won’t stop until crime reaches zero.”
New York City also saw a significant drop in murders last year, from 438 in 2022 to 386 in 2023, according to police statistics.