In the early hours of a Sunday morning in Plainfield, New Jersey, tragedy struck 34-year-old Michael Welsh. Just before 1 a.m. on June 24, 2018, the sound of gunfire pierced the night near the intersection of New and West 5th streets. When Plainfield Police Division patrol units arrived at the scene, alerted by a ShotSpotter notification, they discovered Welsh and a 25-year-old woman from Scotch Plains, both suffering from gunshot wounds.
Emergency responders rushed both victims to
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Despite the efforts of medical staff, Michael Welsh was pronounced dead approximately one hour after the shooting. The female victim, whose identity was not publicly released, was hospitalized in critical condition. The incident was immediately treated as a homicide, prompting a joint investigation by the Union County Homicide Task Force, the Plainfield Police Division, the Union County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, and the Union County Police Department Ballistics Unit.
In the days following the shooting, authorities reached out to the public for assistance in solving the case. The Union County Crime Stoppers offered a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that would lead to an arrest and indictment in connection with the fatal shooting. Investigators urged anyone with information to contact the Homicide Task Force. However, in the years that have passed since Michael Welsh's untimely death, there have been no public announcements regarding any arrests made or suspects identified in the case, leaving the circumstances surrounding his death unresolved.
