Updated 5/14/21 at 12:20 p.m.

The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating a fatal shooting Downtown, one that continues a spike in shootings since the pandemic began.

At approximately 1:50 a.m., the Jersey City Police Department received a report of shots fired in the area of the City Crossings Apartments parking lot located at Merseles Court and Bright Street. Upon arrival, responding police officers found an apparently lifeless male victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso.

The victim has been identified as Stebbin Drew, age 37, of East Orange.

Stebbin was transported by Emergency Medical Services to Jersey City Medical Center were he was pronounced dead at approximately 2:15 a.m. The cause and manner of death are pending the findings of the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.

Like other areas around the country, Jersey City has seen an increase in homicides during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the HCPO, homicides in Jersey City went from 13 in 2019 to 16 in 2020. 2021 appears to be continuing the trend.

This morning’s shooting, if ruled a homicide, would put the number of homicides in Jersey City for 2021 at 12 less than half way through the year.  The highest number of yearly homicides in the last ten years came in 2015 when they reached 27.

The spike in crime has been state-wide. According to State Police tracking, in 2020, 218 people died from shootings in New Jersey, representing an increase of 45% from 2019. Another 1,052 people were wounded, up 25%.

And according to statistics from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, Jersey City saw a roughly 14% increase in gun deaths from 2019 to 2020.