A friendly New Jersey teen was mysteriously gunned down in what prosecutors are calling a “targeted” killing.
Brendan Tevlin, 19, was found in a family member’s Jeep with multiple gunshot wounds early Thursday outside an apartment complex in West Orange, Essex County prosecutors said.
“Our preliminary investigation indicates that it was not random. It was targeted,” prosecutor’s spokeswoman Kathy Carter told The Post.
“At this point we have not identified a suspect.”
Tevlin — a sophomore at the University of Richmond — had been playing video games with friends before he was shot, and even texted his mom to say he was coming home to the family’s house in Livingston, reports said.
“I don’t know how a kid as nice as him, as bright as him, how he could have any enemies,” Tevlin’s childhood friend Steven Ennis, 20, told the Post.
“I can’t imagine anyone trying to harm him.”
A man who lives near where Tevlin’s body was found in front of the apartment complex on Northfield Avenue said detectives told him the teen had been shot about a mile away near Northfield and Walker Road.
“He was either hijacked and dumped there or he was on his last breath and just pulled over,” said the man, who didn’t want to give his name.
People who knew Tevlin said he was always smiling and making others feel better.
“He was such a great kid. He was a class A student, so respectful,” said John Dooney, 41, the bartender at the South Orange Irish Club, where Tevlin practiced his bagpipes.
“I don’t know what happened. It was a shock when I heard.”
Ennis said he grew up playing baseball with Tevlin, who also played lacrosse and surfed.
“My grandpa passed away two years back and to make my family and me smile a little bit, he came over to our house one night and played the bagpipes,” said Ennis.
“Brendan planned to major in business and was active in club sports. We have been in touch with his family to offer the university’s deepest condolences,” said University of Richmond president Ed Ayers.