newjerseynewsroom.com

BY GINA G. SCALA

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

A disgruntled Pathmark worker, the suspected gunman in the early morning shooting in Old Bridge, killed two people before turning the gun on himself, authorities said.

The suspected gunman, a former Marine, dressed in camouflage and armed with an AK-47 and a pistol, fired shots inside the Route 9 grocery store around 4:30 a.m. Friday, Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry told the Asbury Park Press.

The mayor said the victims were both township residents and employees of Pathmark, which was not opened at the time of the shooting, according to reports.

Editor's UPDATE: Earlier today, the identities of the suspected shooter and the two victims were released. Authorities identified the shooter as 23-year-old Terence S. Tyler. The victims are 18-year-old Cristina LoBrutto and 24-year-old Bryan Breen. All three were Old Bridge residents.

"This is the worst phone call a mayor can receive," Mayor Owen Henry told the Star-Ledger of the information he obtained about 6:30 a.m. "You can prepare for these things but you can't prevent them."

Henry said the gunman, who had worked at the supermarket for about two weeks, was at the store this morning before leaving and returning dressed in camouflage and armed with weapons, USA Today reported.

With 90 minutes until opening, several employees were inside the store at the time of the shooting, WLS Radio reported. Those employees were taken to the close by TGIF restaurant along Route 9 border with Sayreville by police, according to the Star-Ledger.

Two windows at the entrance of the store had been shot out this morning, Owen told the Star-Ledger. He was unsure of how that occurred.

Old Bridge is located just 25 miles from New York City, across the Raritan River from Staten Island, N.Y., and has a population of 65,000 people.

The Old Bridge shooting is one in a series of mass killings across the country. Just seven days ago, a man shot and killed his former co-worker in midtown Manhattan. He was killed by police. Earlier this month, a gunman opened fire in a Wisconsin Sikh temple, killing seven people. And in July, 12 people were killed and more than 50 injured when a gunman opened fire during the Dark Knight Rises movie premiere at a Colorado theater.