Accused Shooter Near Brick Memorial H.S. ID’d, Will Be Tried As Adult for Attempted Murder

Police block off Lanes Mill Road near Brick Memorial High School, Oct. 22, 2019. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

The Asbury Park teen who is suspected of shooting a Brick Memorial High School student last year while he was walking home from school, prompting a lockdown and manhunt in the hours to follow, has been identified and charged as an adult in the case after waiving his right to be tried in family court.

Prosecutors in Ocean County identified the suspect by name for the first time Thursday as Alonzo Legrande, 18, of Asbury Park. He was 17-years-old at the time of the shooting, Oct. 22, 2019.

The shooting, which occurred at about 1:45 p.m. on Lanes Mill Road, resulted in the injured student returning to the school, about a quarter-mile away, to ask for help. That resulted in a lockdown of students who were still on campus involved in extra-curricular activities, and police sealing off the surrounding neighborhood.

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As part of their investigation, detectives from Brick police, the prosecutor’s office and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department reviewed video surveillance footage from nearby residences. The video surveillance depicted Legrande and Luis Rivas, who was also a juvenile at the time and has also agreed to be prosecuted as an adult, “acting together and in support of one another in carrying out the shooting,” a statement from Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said Thursday.

“A further investigation revealed that Legrande was, in fact, the individual who fired the weapon,” the statement said.

The victim was taken to Ocean Medical Center and released a short time later.

Legrande was apprehended on Oct. 23, 2019, and has been lodged in the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center since his apprehension.

Rivas has already pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and is presently scheduled to be sentenced on October 2, 2020 at which time the State will be seeking a term of five years New Jersey State Prison.