Two Men Charged in Shooting Death of New Milford Man

Two men have been charged in connection with the early morning shooting death of a 22-year-old New Milford man at the Milford Estates apartment complex, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said Saturday.

Calling the shooting of Alex Bridge "reckless," prosecutors charged Byron Sankar, 20, of East Orange with aggravated manslaughter and other offenses. Aaron McMorris, 22, of Hackensack was charged with hindering apprehension, Molinelli said in a release.  

Authorities say Bridge, Sankar, Sankar's wife and McMorris were hanging out in the parking lot of the apartment complex, drinking beer, and possibly smoking pot, when Sankar allegedly took out a .22 caliber handgun he was carrying and "handled the weapon in such a reckless manner that it discharged, striking the victim in the abdomen and resulting in his death," Molinelli said.
Sankar did not have a permit for the gun and did not legally own it, Molinelli added. 

After fleeing the scene, McMorris called 911 and returned to wait for police, Molinelli said. When questioned by detectives, both McMorris and Sankar gave conflicting accounts of what happened and "took certain actions to impede the investigation," Molinelli said. 

Bridge, who was employed by Nordstrom, was taken to Holy Name Hospital where he was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the abdomen shortly after the incident occurred at 1 a.m., officials said. 

Sankar, who is unemployed, has been charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter, possession of an illegal gun, hindering apprehension and a second hindering apprehension for attempting to hide the gun and endangering an injured victim; fleeing the scene knowing the victim was helpless. Sankar is currently being held at the Bergen County Jail. A bail amount of $1 million has been requested, Molinelli said. 

McMorris, who works for Eva’s Floral in Mahwah, was charged with hindering apprehension and falsely implicating another. Bail has not yet been set. 

A hearing has been set for Tuesday, Aug. 6 at the Bergen County Courthouse. 

Molinelli said that in addition to the New Milford Police Department, other agencies assisting with the investigation were Teaneck Police and Rockland County District Attorney’s Office Regional Investigative Resource Center Organized Crime Unit.

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