Child shot, two hit by vehicle at Deerfield Township graduation party

Gunfire and a fleeing car turned a graduation party on Elm Street in Deerfield Township into a three-juvenile injury scene late Friday night, leaving a juvenile girl shot and two juvenile boys struck by the vehicle. New Jersey State Police said troopers were called to the residence at about 11:42 p.m.

The disturbance unfolded in the Rosenhayn area of the township after an altercation that followed a car collision outside the home where the party was taking place. The confrontation escalated fast enough to involve both a shooting and a vehicle strike, raising the stakes from a neighborhood disruption to a multi-victim emergency. Initial reports did not identify the three juveniles injured in the incident.

Rosenhayn sits inside Deerfield Township, one of Cumberland County’s smaller municipalities, and the incident landed in a part of the township that residents know well. Deerfield Township describes itself as a rural community in northern Cumberland County, about 18 square miles in size and home to more than 3,000 people. The Rosenhayn area also includes the township’s Harvest Festival grounds along Morton Avenue, a familiar gathering point for local events and civic activity.

The timing made the scene especially troubling for families across the county during graduation season, when private parties can draw larger crowds into residential neighborhoods. In this case, a celebration became a police and emergency-response call that left one child shot and two others hit by a car. The facts released so far point to a fast-moving disturbance with serious consequences, but they stop short of explaining what triggered the conflict or how many people were involved before the violence broke out.

For Deerfield Township and surrounding Cumberland County communities, the immediate concern is straightforward: who was hurt, what happened at the Elm Street home, and how a party ended with both gunfire and a fleeing vehicle. The injuries to the juveniles, the late-night response by state police, and the location in the heart of Rosenhayn have made the case a sharp reminder of how quickly a private gathering can become a public safety problem.