Authorities release photos of persons of interest in shooting of 2 Camden police detectives

Updated: 8:35 p.m. EST

Authorities have released photos of two people suspected to have information about Tuesday night’s shooting of two undercover Camden police detectives. The officers were sitting in their vehicle at a red light in the Southern New Jersey city, when around 8:30 p.m., two gunmen allegedly opened fire, wounding them in what authorities are calling an ambush attack.

The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday night it is seeking the public’s help in identifying two persons of interest. There have been no charges and the investigation into the shooting is ongoing, prosecutors said.

“The information we have thus far is that they were essentially ambushed,” Thomson told reporters at a late night news conference Tuesday. “We have anywhere between 10 and 25 rounds that were fired at the officers.”

One of the detectives was able to return fire, Thomson said, but it was not immediately clear if anyone else was shot. Thomson said his department was in communication with hospitals in the region in case either shooter sought treatment for injuries they may have suffered.

The detectives — a man and a woman whose names were not released — both were wounded and taken to a hospital for treatment. Each was listed in stable condition on Wednesday and both are expected to survive.

Authorities declined comment on the extent of the detectives’ injuries, but media reports said the male detective was shot twice in the arm while the woman was shot in the hand.

“At this point in time, our officers have non-life-threatening injuries, but not for the grace of God quite frankly,” Thomson said. “The amount of rounds that were fired at close range and particularly through the windshield.”

Shots rang out around 8:30 p.m. in a Camden neighborhood accustomed to violence, said resident Hilda Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was cooking pork chops when she heard what she said were 13 gunshots outside her front door.

“I think it was the undercover cops. They came down this street. I heard shooting, opened up the door,” Rodriguez said. “The car kept going, ended up over here where the light’s at. And the cops jumped into the other cops’ SUV and they left.”

The shooting occurred on National Night Out, an event designed to bring local police and the communities they serve together.

The two detectives have both been placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation continues. This is standard procedure following police-involved shootings.

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WHYY reporter Joe Hernandez contributed reporting.