New Jersey

Friends Mourn Stockton University Student Killed in New Year's Eve Shooting

“There’s just still that feeling that it’s not over yet. Like, we’re still going through it. It’s not processed yet.”

Students at Stockton University returned to class with heavy hearts Tuesday as they continue to mourn a fellow student who police say, along with her parents and a family friend, was shot and killed by her own brother on New Year’s Eve. 

The shooting occurred inside Brittany Kologi’s Long Branch, New Jersey home around 11:30 p.m. that night. The 18-year-old girl was with her parents Steven Kologi, 44, and Linda Kologi, 42, as well as their family friend Mary Schultz, 70, when a gunman opened fire, striking and killing them. Police identified the suspect, who was armed with a semi-automatic rifle, as Brittany’s 16-year-old brother. The teen was arrested and charged with four counts of murder as well as a weapons offense. Investigators have not released a possible motive.

Brittany Kologi was a freshman at Stockton University in Galloway Township, New Jersey. Her dorm room door still has Christmas decorations on it while her photo still hangs in the hallway. As Kologi’s floor mates returned to class for the first day of the spring semester Tuesday, many felt the painful void.

“I had so much anxiety coming back, knowing she wasn’t going to be there,” said Marissa Realdine, a freshman at Stockton. “It was just something so tragic and I think that’s what hit us all most is she had so much life to live. And we’re all here and she’s not.”

For fellow Stockton University freshman Olivia Stragapede, it’s been difficult to process the fact that her friend is gone.

“There’s just still that feeling that it’s not over yet,” Stragapede said. “Like, we’re still going through it. It’s not processed yet.”

Realdine painted a poster with a heartfelt message to her friend the night of Kologi’s viewing. The message reads, “Because someone we love is in Heaven, there is a little bit of Heaven in our home.”

“She’s always going to be here with us,” Realdine said.

Stockton University is offering counseling to both students and employees.

Brittany Kologi
Family Photo
Brittany Kologi
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