A shot was fired toward a driver’s vehicle from a stolen white sedan on Sunset Road in Lakewood late Monday night, and within hours a matching vehicle turned up at the center of a second shots-fired report in neighboring Howell. No injuries have been reported in either incident, and no arrests have been announced as investigators in both townships work to determine whether the same vehicle, and possibly the same shooter, is behind both.
According to The Lakewood Scoop, officers responded to a residence on Massachusetts Avenue at about 11 p.m. on September 21, 2026, after a motorist told police he had been driving behind a white four-door sedan on Sunset Road when someone inside fired a single round toward his vehicle. Lakewood police believe the sedan had been stolen in the township earlier that Monday evening. The Lakewood Police Department is continuing its investigation and has not released a suspect description or any identifying details beyond the description of the vehicle itself.
Matching Sedan Surfaces in Howell Hours Later
Investigators soon received information that a vehicle matching the sedan's description was reportedly involved in another shots-fired incident, this time in neighboring Howell Township. Per Shore News Network, Howell police focused their search around Howell Lanes bowling alley and Pond Road along the Route 9 commercial corridor after the second shots-fired report came in. The station's report does not indicate whether the two shootings share a shooter, and authorities have not determined what led to the gunfire in either case.
The two separate shots-fired incidents unfolded in neighboring Lakewood and Howell, with the Lakewood report coming first and Howell's following a short time later. Route 9 runs through both communities and is used by commuters, according to Wikipedia. A vehicle matching the sedan's description was reportedly involved in both incidents within hours.
A Possible, Unconfirmed Link to a Fatal Toms River Shooting
Separately, police are searching for Douglas C. Cobb, a fugitive wanted in a fatal September 18, 2026, shooting outside a Wawa gas station on Route 37 in Toms River, according to police. Cobb allegedly shot a man following a brief argument at the gas pumps before fleeing, per Patch. Location data late Friday afternoon showed his phone at a random spot along Route 9 in Howell, where it was not moving. The Lakewood and Howell shootings remain under investigation.
Under New Jersey law, pointing a firearm at someone under circumstances showing extreme indifference can constitute fourth-degree aggravated assault, an indictable crime punishable by up to 18 months in prison, according to Criminal Defense Lawyer. Separately, auto theft in New Jersey is generally a third-degree crime carrying three to five years in prison under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-10.1, though it is a second-degree crime if the vehicle's value exceeds $75,000, per FindLaw.
Lakewood police are asking witnesses and anyone with information about the sedan to contact the department at 732-363-0200.
For now, the investigation into Monday night's shootings remains active, with no arrests announced and key questions, including who was inside the sedan and what sparked the gunfire, still unanswered.
