Stray bullet hits innocent woman inside Camden County, NJ home

GLOUCESTER CITY — A woman who thought she was safe in her home was hospitalized late Monday night.

The 67-year-old victim was shot in her Gloucester City house on Hunter Street and hospitalized, according to Camden County Prosecutor Grace MacAulay.

She was in stable condition as of Tuesday afternoon. But she was only in the hospital because of errant gunfire.

Investigators found that a Gloucester City man had fired a gun during a nearby argument with another person.

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Francisco Griffin, 51, was arrested around 11 p.m. Monday night. He's charged with second-degree aggravated assault, two second-degree weapon offenses, and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

It's unclear if Griffin had aimed for the other person in the argument and missed, or if he fired the gun for another reason.

Regardless, the bullet went into the woman's home and hit her.

Griffin was taken to Camden County jail.

Stray bullets can kill

This is not the first time gunfire has hit the wrong person in New Jersey.

A woman and a man, both associated with Rutgers University, were hit by stray bullets just off the New Brunswick campus in April. The woman was in her second-story apartment above the Golden Rail Pub.

Three men were charged in connection with the shooting.

In 2021, a toddler was shot in the head by a stray bullet. The two-year-old girl was expected to recover.

But 10 years ago, a 12-year-old girl on a scooter was shot and killed by a stray bullet in Paterson. Investigators believed the shooter was aiming for someone else and missed.