Police reported that multiple people were hurt when gunfire broke out at a shopping centre in Toms River, New Jersey. 

Toms River Police Department said that the incident occurred along the 1700 block of Hooper Avenue around 2 AM. Authorities didn’t immediately say how many people were hurt and what was their medical conditions. However, the department did confirm that many individuals had been taken to the hospital.

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NBC10 reported police investigators putting evidence markers in the parking lot of the mall, and were going in and out of a hookah parlour which had its windows blown out. 

Authorities have not yet named or nabbed any suspect and the investigation is ongoing. 

Toms River is a relatively safe town with FBI crime data suggesting that the chance of being a victim of crime in the New Jersey township is 1 in 94. Located in Ocean County, at the heart of the Jersey Shore region, Toms River is a regional commercial hub in New Jersey.

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Governor Phil Murphy signed seven new bills into law in July, to curb gun violence. This included legislation that would allow the state attorney general to follow lawsuits against the firearm industry. 

“In the wake of horrific mass shootings in Highland Park, Illinois, Uvalde Texas, and Buffalo, New York, it is necessary that we take action in order to protect our communities”, the governor said, as per Associated Press.

He continued, “This is a huge step forward for commonsense gun safety and for safer communities. But it cannot be our only or last step”. 

Among the bills signed are required safety courses before procuring a firearm purchaser’s identification, banning the sale of .50-caliber guns, and requiring the state registry to track ammunition sales. 

[This is a developing story]