Juan Ortiz, a 31-year-old Hispanic resident of North Bergen, was shot and killed on the morning of Monday, August 5, 2024. Police found him shortly after 9 a.m. near the intersection of Meadowview Avenue and 61st Street; he was taken to Palisades Medical Center and pronounced dead at about 9:40 a.m.

The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit and the North Bergen Police Department treated the death as a homicide believed to be related to a robbery. Investigators identified two suspects and, within a day of the shooting, arrested 24-year-old James Baker of Secaucus and 21-year-old Arwa Elmohdli of North Bergen. Baker was charged with murder, felony murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit a robbery and weapons offenses; Elmohdli was charged with felony murder as an accomplice, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. Both were held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending their first court appearances.

Anyone with information about Juan, the shooting, or the events near Meadowview Avenue and 61st Street on August 5 is asked to come forward.