New Jersey

Fairfield Township man charged in 2021 house party mass shooting that left 3 dead

A Cumberland County grand jury has charged Arthur Armstead, 30, with first-degree murder, conspiracy and related offenses after a deadly mass shooting at a house party in Fairfield Twp. in May of 2021

Investigators works the scene of a shooting in Fairfield Township, N.J., Sunday, May 23, 2021.
Matt Rourke/AP

A Cumberland County grand jury has indicted a 30-year-old Fairfield Township, NJ, man on murder, conspiracy and related charges for his, alleged, involvement in a mass shooting at a house party in the township in May of 2021 that left three people dead and several injured.

On Wednesday, Jan. 31, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Arthur Armstead, 30, of Fairfield Township, with two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy and related charges for his suspected involvement in the deaths of 30-year-old Kevin Elliot and 19-year-old Brailyn Holmes.

Another man, Zedekiah Holmes, has previously been charged with killing 25-year-old Asia Hester as well as Elliott during the May 22 shooting that happened at a house on the 1000 block of East Commerce Street in Fairfield Township. Holmes' sister, Brailyn was slain in the shooting.

Officials said an investigation into this incident has been ongoing since police responded to a home along E. Commerce Street at about 11:45 p.m. on May 22 of 2021, where three people were killed and another 11 were injured in a mass shooting at a house party.

Law enforcement officials said ongoing investigation has implicated Armstead in the shooting, leading to the new charges.

Armstead was previously charged and indicted for obstruction, hindering apprehension, and conspiracy in connection with the investigation for his actions after the incident, officials said.

In the past, officials said the party was attended by “hundreds” of people, who were left scattering to safety when gunfire -- from six separate guns -- rang out.

As part of that indictment, officials allege Armstead fled to Delaware in the hours after the shooting where he stayed for several days with a girlfriend. Officials have said, during that time, Armstead's mother made plans to take him to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and eventually Atlanta, Georgia.

After a stay in Wilmington, Armstead made his way to Atlantic City and hid with another girlfriend before turning himself in to state police for an outstanding warrant on an unrelated gun charge, officials have said.

A date for Armstead to be arraigned on these charges, officials said, is pending.

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