GARFIELD, N.J. — Bergen County authorities have arrested two individuals in connection with a falsely reported shooting incident in Garfield, New Jersey. The arrests follow an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Garfield Police Department.
Damien I. Flores, 18, of Garfield, and Samantha N. Delacruz, 22, of Elmwood Park, were taken into custody on Wednesday, August 21, 2024. The charges stem from an incident on July 26, 2024, when Flores sought treatment for a gunshot wound at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey.
Flores initially told law enforcement that he had been injured in a drive-by shooting near Belmont Park in Garfield. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad, working alongside the Garfield Police Department, began a joint investigation into the incident.
As the investigation progressed, authorities discovered discrepancies in the accounts provided by Flores and Delacruz. Delacruz, who drove Flores to the hospital, gave a statement that conflicted with Flores’s version of events. Detectives ultimately determined that there had been no drive-by shooting and that the gunshot wound was accidental and self-inflicted inside Delacruz’s vehicle.
Prosecutor Mark Musella announced that Flores and Delacruz were arrested without incident. The case remains under investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Garfield Police Department. “This is what happened,” the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.