New York

Pregnant Woman, Boyfriend Among 3 Killed When Masked Gunmen Leap From U-Haul Truck in Jersey City: Sources

A member of the group that had allegedly gone to kill the boyfriend was inadvertently shot by a member of his own crew, law enforcement sources say

What to Know

  • Three people were shot and killed in a Jersey City apartment building on Monday night, police confirmed
  • Witnesses reported seeing masked men jumping out of a U-Haul truck before the shooting
  • One of the gunmen died, sources said; a search for the other two was ongoing

A pregnant woman and her boyfriend were among three people killed when masked gunmen jumped out of a U-Haul rental truck in a Jersey City neighborhood and ambushed them in an apartment, law enforcement sources tell NBC 4 New York. 

According to the sources, one of the masked men stole a gold chain from the 26-year-old Ishear Bailey that Bailey had previously stolen from someone else. The masked man taunted Bailey over the theft on social media, and, perhaps fearing Bailey would retaliate, got two people to go with him to Bailey's apartment to kill him preemptively, the sources said. 

The masked crew pulled up to Bailey's Fulton Avenue apartment in a U-Haul around 10 p.m. Monday and shot him and his girlfriend, 25-year-old Janaya Lee. A third person, a member of the masked group, died in the shooting, and authorities believe he was inadvertently shot by a member of his own crew, the sources say. 

The two surviving suspects fled on foot after the shooting; the U-Haul they had used was recovered. 

Lee was six months pregnant, according to her cousin. She also leaves behind a 5-year-old son. 

"You've got to be a real heartless person to kill a pregnant woman," said Bernard Broad, the father of Bailey. 

Broad said he never got to say goodbye to his son.

"Something told me, 'You haven't spoken to your son in awhile,' so I called him and the phone kept ringing and ringing," he told NBC 4 New York. 

The third person killed was identified as 31-year-old Quadel Chisolm. Lee and Bailey had been shot multiple times; Chisolm was found shot once in the entrance hallway. A law enforcement source says the two men who died were known to police.

The shooter and another associate are still at large. 

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