SOMERVILLE, N.J. – As the community and police officers were celebrating National Night Out, a day to recognize the relationship between the community and police, a shooting took place just a few blocks away.
Somerset County Acting Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart announced Qwa’lir Carter, age 18, of North Plainfield, N.J., to twenty years in New Jersey State Prison, with 85% of that term to be served without parole pursuant to the No Early Release Act, following his conviction for 1st degree aggravated manslaughter and related weapons charges.
According to a report by the Somerset Prosecutor’s Office, the charges stemmed from Carter’s fatal shooting of a juvenile victim in North Plainfield Borough on August 6, 2019, which occurred a few blocks away from the Borough’s National Night Out event.
“The Defendant’s arrest and charges followed an investigation conducted by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the North Plainfield Police Department. The investigation revealed that the defendant and the victim knew each other and traveled to a location within North Plainfield to engage in a fist fight,” police said in a report. “As the fight began, defendant drew a handgun, pointed it at the victim and pulled the trigger, but the gun misfired. Defendant cleared the handgun malfunction, pointed the gun at the victim and pulled the trigger again, shooting and killing the victim. Defendant Carter was fifteen years old at the time of the incident, but in December 2019 the State successfully moved to waive defendant Carter to adult court.”
Carter pled guilty on March 4, 2022, at which time he admitted to shooting the sixteen-year-old victim during the altercation.