Shooting leaves another dead in Camden

A 24-year-old man was shot and killed in South Camden Friday night, police said.

Camden County Police, the force that patrols the City of Camden, received an alert shortly before 9:30 p.m. that the "ShotSpotter" gunfire tracking system had been activated.

Officers found James Rhodes, 24, of East Orange, Essex County, lying in an alleyway between the 2800 blocks of North Constitution Road and North Congress Road in the Fairview section of the city.

Rhodes was taken to Cooper University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:40 p.m.

Rhodes' death is the latest in a sharp uptick in homicides in the city this year: At least 18 people have been killed in Camden this year, up from 11 this time a year ago.

City and county officials have this year pushed back against the idea of comparing the number of homicides to the previous year's, noting that the numbers are small and prone to fluctuation.

Still, the same officials were quick in recent years to tout any downward shift as a trend, following a record-high number of homicides in 2012 that helped precipitate a change in the police force in 2013.

Officials soon began praising the new Camden County Police Department — which replaced the disbanded Camden Police Department — for what were then declining numbers of homicides and other crimes.

A flurry of national news coverage and praise from elected officials, including Gov. Christie and, last May, President Obama, followed.

No arrests have been made in Rhodes' killing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detectives Pete Longo of the Camden County Prosecutor's Office at 856-580-5854 or Shawn Donlon of the Camden County Police Department at 856-757-7420.

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