Teen assaulted, father shot during home invasion robbery in Mount Laurel, police say
MOUNT LAUREL, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Mount Laurel police are investigating a home invasion where an 18-year-old woman was assaulted and her father was shot Tuesday morning.
Police were called to the 400 block of Equality Court in the Ethel R. Lawrence Homes around 3 a.m.
Officials said two men forced their way inside a townhome, demanded money and then shot the 43-year-old father in the leg and struck his teen daughter, a recent Lenape High School graduate, in the head with an unknown object.
Police said the father then handed over an unknown amount of money to the suspects, and then the suspects left on foot.
"Obviously pretty brazen and pretty motivated. This family is the victim and that's what we care about. We want to seek justice for them," said Officer Kyle Gardner of the Mount Laurel Police Department.
Investigators believe the pair left the area in a car that was parked nearby.
Both victims were taken to Cooper University Hospital in stable condition.
There were two other family members home at the time, but police said they did not interact with the suspects.
Police said the motive for the attack appears to be money and it is clear that the residence was targeted.
"They went there with the intention of getting money from the residence," said Officer Gardner.
"That's scary," said neighbor Albert Rodriguez. "It's a couple of houses down and I have two boys here."
Longtime neighbor Deitra Chamberlain said, "The gentleman that was shot, he actually had just come over to borrow some dish detergent from us. To know that hours later he was the target of a shooting is quite concerning."
The incident remains under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Mount Laurel police.
