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Earlie Harrell, once a renowned Bloods member, was one of three people shot late Saturday.

TRENTON — Is the capital city in for a Blood bath?

Police sources and city leaders fear a possible retaliatory "war" on the streets after a former high-ranking Bloods gangster was one of three people shot, one fatally, before midnight Saturday.

Their fears were well-founded as there were two more shootings as of 7:30 p.m.: Another woman showed up to the hospital with a gunshot wound Sunday afternoon; and then a man was in the same area of the triple shooting, the city's fifth shooting since city officials eased the curfew.

It was unclear if there was a link to the carnage from the previous night.

But officials said they are investigating to see if the Saturday's fatal shooting was related to a fight that happened about 21 hours earlier. 

The suspects sprayed up a Daymond Street home, near Power Street, where between 30 and 40 people were gathered despite the city's curfew still being in force.

Cops recovered more than a dozen shell casings, and two vehicles were also struck around 11:40 p.m. 


Robert Smith was murdered in Trenton Saturday night, May 16. 2020.

The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said the murder victim Robert Smith, 38, of Trenton, was struck in the head and taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.

One of two others wounded in the triple shooting was Earlie Harrell, who was once a high-ranking member of the Bloods' set of Sex, Money, Murder.

"You know it's going to be war now that Harrell was shot," a police source said. 

Harrell, 44, was struck in the back and a 19-year-old Hamilton man was shot in the buttocks, authorities said.

No one has been arrested and charged with the shooting.  

Known as the "Almighty Blood Messiah," Harrell appeared on the History Channel's "Gangland," which did a segment on the capital city's notorious set in 2009.

Harrell, who called for peace at a gang summit in Trenton during a spike in gang crimes in 2006, did not respond to a request for comment. 

Gangs once ruled the capital city streets, but police now say that neighborhood cliques, often smaller and more loosely organized, control much of Trenton's turf.  

Though he does not appear to be in the game anymore, police sources and Mayor Reed Gusciora fear possibly retaliatory strikes because Harrell still has stock with many street hustlers. 

Harrell told The Trentonian in an interview in 2016 that he joined Sex, Money, Murder when he was 25 believing the Bloods were a “band of brothers” who'd work to uplift their own economically.

“My family are fighters, but they’re not soldiers when it comes down to social issues, and that’s what I thought Bloods were, based on the information I was getting at that time,” Harrell said.

Harrell, touting his reform, told The Trentonian he no longer sold drugs and was now slinging candles and art and trying to steer youth away from the streets.

“To end poverty, we need to recondition negative attitudes and reinforce positive entrepreneurial skills,” Harrell said. “People of the city are suffering from lack of employment, and that leads to them doing anything out of desperation. The easiest thing to get into is drugs, so we need to give them the tools to make better decisions. I’m not a Saint and I don’t claim to be a Saint, but I’m trying to help the brothers and sisters of Trenton.”

Police are investigating whether the fatal shooting is linked to fighting that happened around 2 a.m Saturday morning in the same area.

Trenton Police Lt. Jason Kmiec said a caller reported around 70 people gathered outside a house on Power Street when two women got jumped.

Bessie Harrell, 31, was later arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after she allegedly tried to start a fight with a 26-year-old woman in front of cops, Kmiec said.

It's unclear how Bessie Harrell may be related to Earlie Harrell.

The women were at a cookout earlier when Bessie Harrell grew irate with the victim for allegedly holding up the line, cops said.

Bessie Harrell allegedly hit the woman multiple times but wasn't charged with assault because the cops didn't witness the initial altercation, Kmiec said.

An unknown male allegedly clocked Bessie Harrell in the head before running off. 

She later got into it with the same victim in front of cops, Kmiec said.

The woman who was beaten up refused medical treatment and was told she could sign a simple assault complaint against Bessie Harrell.

Gusciora said he knows Earlie Harrell and bought candles from him in the past. He said police are concerned about retaliation given the admiration that Harrell still enjoys on the streets. 

"Not saying that he's a saint, but he's tried," to remake himself, Gusciora said. "I don't know if you could ever get it out of you once you're at that level. There's still young people that have that reverence toward him. I think he would tell you [gang life] is not worth it, and obviously it's proved to be that."

"A lot of it is economic. Young people in Trenton, they lose their hope. They have lost their economic opportunities. [They believe] drugs are the best way out of poverty," Gusciora continued.

The gunplay has continued since Gusciora eased up the restrictions on Trenton's curfew from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Cops said that around 1 p.m. Sunday, a woman showed up to Capital Health Regional Medical Center with a leg wound. 

Kmiec said police believe the shooting happened in the area of Edgewood and Hermitage avenues. 

Officers didn't have much to go off of as the woman, who was listed in stable condition, wasn't cooperating with police.

Another man told cops he was shot in the arm around 7 p.m., near Daymone and Power streets, sources said.

@IsaacAvilucea on Twitter


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