Family and friends of Nymere Tinsley are demanding justice after the father of five was fatally shot over the weekend at a hookah lounge in Toms River.
Hookah lounge in hot water
Top Tier Hookah Lounge in the Silverton section of Toms River is now closed after the early Saturday morning shooting killed Tinsley and injured two others at the establishment.
Toms River police say that Top Tier has been on their radar for a while. The business allegedly sold alcohol without a license and hyped up parties on social media to draw in big crowds.
Saturday’s shooting was the last straw, and the owners were issued fines and summonses and must appear in court.
Family and friends of Nymere Tinsley demands justice
A vigil was held Monday evening in Asbury Park where the 25-year-old was from.
Tiana Shepherd, a childhood friend of Tinsley’s, was at the lounge when the shooting happened.
“You know, having a good time with my friends, seeing my friend the whole night. You know, we turned around, it’s bullets. Everybody running left and right,” Shepherd told News 12 New Jersey.
Shepherd says she scurried to get out but would have stayed if she knew Tinsley was hurt.
“It was fear. It was chaos. It was everything. It was like the whole place was caving in. It felt like I was in a movie,” she says.
The community believes someone knows something and is urging anyone with information to speak up.
“I don’t know if you ran past the killer, ran with the killer, got in the car with the killer, or followed the killer – but someone knows the killer,” says Rev. Dr. Ricky Donato, who is speaking on the family’s behalf.
There is concern that the shooting will lead to more violence.
“Somebody knows something, and we don’t really have time to play the snitch game. His mother is hurting, his father is hurting, his children are hurting, and we want justice,” Donato says.
No arrests have been made in connection to the shooting.
Anyone who may have information in the shooting is asked to contact Toms River police or the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
