On a cold December evening in Plainfield, New Jersey, the day after Christmas in 2016, a burst of gunfire shattered the night's quiet on the 600 block of East 3rd Street. When the violence ceased, two individuals were left wounded. One of them was 18-year-old Manuel Berrios, a former student of South Plainfield High School. Emergency services rushed to the scene, and the injured were transported to a nearby hospital for urgent medical attention.
Despite the efforts of medical
professionals who performed emergency surgery, Manuel Berrios succumbed to his injuries the following morning, on December 27, 2016. His passing marked the city of Plainfield's 11th homicide of the year. The second victim in the shooting, who has not been publicly identified, survived after also undergoing surgery. The Union County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Task Force, in conjunction with the Plainfield Police Department and the Union County Police Department, launched an investigation into the fatal shooting.
In the wake of his sudden and tragic death, friends and family of Berrios remembered him as a good person. A GoFundMe page was established to help his family with the unexpected funeral expenses. While authorities have not publicly identified any suspects or announced any arrests in the killing of Manuel Berrios, the investigation into his death remains a poignant reminder of a young life cut short. The community was left to mourn the loss of the teenager, another victim of the gun violence that plagued the city that year.
