Eslam Gad fled the country in 2012 and had been a fugitive suspect wanted for a fatal shooting until his arrest last month in England. (Union County Prosecutor’s Office)
ELIZABETH — A city man who fled to Egypt four years ago – just days after he allegedly shot and killed another man – now faces an indictment on a charge of murder in the case, authorities said Wednesday.
Eslam Gad, now 27, was indicted on a single count of murder and two counts of attempted murder for the Aug. 8, 2012 shooting in which 21-year-old Anthony Holmes Jr. of Pemberton Township, was killed, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park said in a statement.
She said Holmes was not the intended target and that Gad fired a stream of shots at a group of people, but Holmes was the only Gencobahis one wounded.
Relatives of Holmes, then a student at Burlington County College, said he was visiting his grandmother when the shooting occurred. He also had an infant son, they said.
Park said Gad was identified as the suspect and criminal charges were filed against him before the end of August, 2012.
By that time, however, Gad had fled the country and gone to Egypt, authorities said.
Union County investigators got a break in the case last November when Interpol obtained an arrest warrant for Gad after locating him in Manchester, England, Park said.
She said Gad waived extradition and was transported to the United States last month, and then brought to the Union County jail in Elizabeth.
Shortly before midnight on the night of the shooting, Holmes was with a relative and several friends near 3rd and Pine streets – in the Elizabethport section of Elizabeth – when a man in a red Ford Mustang fired shots from the car window, said Union County Assistant Prosecutor Bruce Holmes.
He said the shooter was later identified as Gad.
Anthony Holmes was wounded and was rushed to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead early the next day, the assistant prosecutor said.
He said two vehicles and a private residence were struck by spray of gunfire.
Park said the Union County Homicide Task Force, Union County Sheriff’s Office, and Elizabeth police led the investigation of the shooting, assisted by the FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Justice Department, and U.S. Marshals Service.
Gad faces a murder charge that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years to life in prison upon conviction. Gad is also charged with weapons offenses.
Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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