Jersey City Man Charged with Murder After Fatal Cornelison Avenue Shooting

A Jersey City man is facing murder and weapons charges after police found 38-year-old Omar Smith shot to death inside an apartment at 200 Cornelison Avenue Tuesday night, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office. The arrest is the latest turn in a case that initially had no publicly identified victim or suspect.

Jersey City police responded shortly after 8 p.m. on August 11 to a report of an injured man inside the apartment. Officers found Smith, who lived in Jersey City, unresponsive with an apparent gunshot wound. Prosecutors said he was pronounced dead at the scene, and the initial report said no other injuries were reported.

The prosecutor's office said the shooting is being investigated as a domestic dispute. Authorities have not explained what happened before the gunfire or disclosed the relationship between Smith and the man who was charged. For people living around Cornelison Avenue, a residential stretch lined with apartment buildings, the central circumstances of the killing remain unclear.

Jalil Harley, 25, was arrested Thursday and charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon, according to prosecutors. He was taken to the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending his first court appearance. The charges are accusations, and Harley has not been convicted.

Harley is awaiting his first court appearance while the investigation continues. Prosecutors have not disclosed the relationship between Harley and Smith or said what they believe led to the shooting.