4 Friends Shot as Masked Gunman Opens Fire on NJ Street

Police are looking for a masked gunman who approached four friends walking down a street in a northern New Jersey town early Tuesday and opened fire, wounding all of them in what authorities believed to be a targeted attack on a young woman in the group, authorities say.

Officials say no words were exchanged when the gunman fired up to nine shots at the 18-year-old woman, 20-year-old man, 18-year-old man and 17-year-old boy as they walked on Mission Street in Montclair around 1 a.m.

Police say a preliminary investigation suggests the shooting was targeted, and that the female victim was likely the intended target. She was shot in the chest and was the most severely injured of the four. Police say she had been targeted in a shooting last week, but was not hurt in that case.

Authorities said it wasn't clear why she was targeted.

Authorities said the 20-year-old man who was with her Tuesday morning was shot in the arm; the 18-year-old man was wounded in the buttocks and the 17-year-old victim was shot in the leg. All three were taken to the hospital in stable condition and are expected to be OK. 

Police said the suspect fled down Elmwood Avenue after firing the shots and hopped into a getaway car that was last seen heading east on Elmwood.