1 dead, 13 injured by lightning strike at New Jersey archery range
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A 61-year-old man is dead after a group of people was struck by lightning at a New Jersey archery range Wednesday night, police said.

Thirteen other people, including a 7-year-old, were injured in the lightning strike at the Black Knight Bowbenders archery range in Jackson Township. Injuries ranged from “burns to non-specific complaints of not feeling well,” Jackson Township Police Chief Matthew D. Kunz said.

In a Facebook post early Thursday, police identified the deceased as Robert Montgomery, of Cinnaminson Township.

The archery event was organized by a Cub Scout troop, explaining the young age of some of the victims, police said.

The victims were rushed to both the Jersey Shore University Medical Center and CentraState Medical Center, the police department said. One was taken to Livingston Burn Center for treatment of “a severe burn caused by the strike,” police said.

At least four of the victims are children and were taken to the hospital with burns, said Jerry Mindurski, president of the archery club.

lightning strike jackson township nj new jersey black knight bowbenders archery club
The Black Knight Bowbenders Archery Club in Jackson Township, N.J., on Wednesday.NBC New York

Three adult instructors were also taken to the hospital, he said, noting that the person who died was a member at the club. Mindurski said he did not know the conditions of the other victims.

First responders performed CPR on a man after police were called around 7:13 p.m., and another person was initially unconscious but regained consciousness, Kunz said in a news release. It was not immediately clear whether the person given CPR was the man who died or someone else.

Mindurski said he was “praying for family members of the man that was killed and those that got hurt.”

“It’s all so sudden,” he said.

lightning strike jackson township nj new jersey black knight bowbenders archery club
Emergency personnel attend to victims of a lightning strike at the Black Knight Bowbenders Archery Club.NBC New York

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has been briefed on the situation, he said on X.

“Please pray for everyone involved in this tragic incident,” he said.

Thunderstorms were expected across much of the eastern and central United States on Wednesday, including New Jersey. Jackson Township is about 30 miles east of Trenton, the state capital.

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