Authorities had not released a full casualty count Sunday, but multiple local reports said at least six people were shot and one person died.
UNION, N.J. — Police and county prosecutors are investigating a Saturday night shooting inside a Chick-fil-A on Route 22 in Union Township after officers rushed to the restaurant just after 8:45 p.m. and witnesses described a burst of gunfire.
By Sunday afternoon, authorities still had not named any victims or suspects, announced arrests or explained what led to the violence at the fast-food restaurant. The Union County Prosecutor’s Office said only that the case was active and ongoing, a sign that detectives were still sorting through witness accounts, physical evidence and the first reports from the scene. The shooting drew intense attention because it happened at a busy chain restaurant on a heavily traveled commercial stretch, leaving families waiting outside for word on workers and customers who had been inside.
The first public timeline came together through local television reports, witness interviews and the visible police response. CBS New York reported that officers were sent to the Chick-fil-A on Route 22 near Gelb Avenue just after 8:45 p.m. Saturday. A man who said his girlfriend worked at the restaurant told the station that a group of men entered and went straight behind the counter before shots were fired. Another family member waiting outside said a worker called home in panic and described masked people entering the business. By late evening, officers were still inside the restaurant while others moved through the parking lot, and police kept the property locked down as the investigation continued. Audio aired by local television included a dispatcher reporting an unconscious victim, one person shot in the face and others hit in the legs, giving one of the clearest early signs of how serious the violence had been.
Even with that early detail, officials released little on the record. The Union County Prosecutor’s Office told local media that it was handling an active and ongoing investigation and said more information would be released when available. Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Sunday that she had been briefed on the shooting and remained in contact with officials on the ground. She said her thoughts were with the injured and their families and thanked first responders for their swift action. Chick-fil-A did not issue a detailed public statement about the shooting in the reports reviewed Sunday and instead directed questions to local authorities. That left major facts unresolved well into the next day, including how many shooters entered the restaurant, whether all of the victims were employees, whether the attack targeted a specific person and what, if any, confrontation came just before the gunfire.
The sharpest dispute Sunday involved the casualty count. Authorities had not publicly confirmed the number of people shot or whether anyone had died. Still, several news outlets, citing local reporting and public statements from former Assemblyman Jamel Holley, said at least six people were shot and one person was pronounced dead at the scene. Other reports described several victims being taken to hospitals, but no hospital system had released conditions or names by Sunday afternoon. Because the prosecutor’s office had not yet published a formal count, the public record remained incomplete, and that uncertainty shaped nearly every update through the morning. What was clear was that the violence reached multiple people in a matter of seconds inside a restaurant that was still open for business near the end of its Saturday operating hours.
The setting added to the shock. The restaurant sits at 2319 U.S. Highway 22 West in Union Township, in the middle of one of North Jersey’s busiest retail corridors. Chick-fil-A’s own location page listed the store as temporarily closed Sunday, a sign that the scene had not returned to normal after the overnight investigation. Local planning records describe the site as part of the center median commercial strip along Route 22, a stretch known for quick turns into parking lots, heavy evening traffic and clusters of chain stores and restaurants. That kind of location usually means a fast-moving mix of workers, delivery drivers, families and takeout customers. Instead, witnesses described sirens, blocked entrances and officers moving in and out of the building long after dark, while relatives gathered outside looking for answers.
What comes next is more procedural than public for now. The prosecutor’s office is expected to sort through surveillance video, dispatch records, witness interviews and any physical evidence from inside the restaurant and parking lot before releasing a fuller account. Union police officers were already canvassing the property Saturday night, and the county office took the lead by Sunday. No charging documents, warrant affidavits or court dates had been made public as of April 12. No suspect description had been formally released by investigators beyond witness accounts that mentioned masked people. The next major milestone will likely be the first official statement laying out the number of victims, whether any deaths are confirmed, whether the shooting was targeted and whether police have identified or arrested anyone. Until then, the case remains a fast-moving criminal investigation shaped as much by what officials have not said as by what witnesses reported from the scene.
The emotional force of the story came from the people left outside the tape line. A father who rushed to the restaurant after getting a call from his son described the scene as a “war zone,” a phrase that quickly spread through early coverage because it captured the chaos families said they encountered. A Lyft driver identified in local reports as Martin said he had just finished a nearby trip when he heard more than seven shots. He said he headed toward the restaurant to buy food and instead found police swarming the area. News crews at the scene showed a large emergency response and a restaurant that stayed sealed for hours while investigators worked. Those fragments, a panicked call home, the sound of gunfire, a locked restaurant and families waiting in the dark, formed the first public picture of what happened before investigators were ready to speak in detail.
As of Sunday evening, the shooting remained under investigation, with no arrests publicly announced and no full official account released. The next update is expected from the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, which has said it will provide more information as it becomes available.
Author note: Last updated 2026-04-12.