Reward offered in Rutgers student killed in shooting

NEWARK, N.J. -- A reward has been offered for a Rutgers University student who was killed Sunday night, and a recent graduate injured in a double shooting inside an off-campus apartment near the New Jersey university's Newark campus.

Shani Patel, 21, of Toms River, was fatally shot around 10 p.m. Sunday, and his 23-year-old roommate was undergoing surgery and listed in critical condition at a hospital, said Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray.

The roommate graduated from Rutgers last year, Murray said.

The university says the shooting isn't a random act and there are no threats to the school community.

"I write with the sad news that last night we lost one of our students," Rutgers Chancellor Nancy Cantor wrote in an email to students. "There is an active, ongoing investigation by the Newark Police Department of a crime that took place at a private residence located off campus."

No suspects have been identified and no arrests have been made, Murray said. An award of up to $10,000 was being offered for information that leads to arrest and conviction.

Essex County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Katherine Carter said that the motive for the shooting remains under investigation.

(ASSOCIATED PRESS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT)