Richard W. Pereira, 26, died on January 28, 2017, in a hunting accident in a wooded area off Locker Street in Berkeley Township, near Toms River, New Jersey. Born in Toms River and raised mostly in Waretown, he was deer hunting with his father and two friends in an area known as Johnson’s Pit when a 41-year-old companion from Forked River discharged his shotgun and struck Pereira.

Pereira’s father rendered immediate first aid at the scene. Emergency services responded and a doctor pronounced him dead shortly afterward. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department investigated; the shotgun was taken into evidence and initial reports described the shooting as accidental. No arrests or charges have been reported.

If anyone was in the Johnson’s Pit area that morning or has information about the incident, please share what is known.