February 18,2012 (Kearny, NJ) In an article about the Morris County Prosecutor's office investigation of Kearny Resident Leonardo Parera fatal shooting of his Exit Realty Golden Service colleague and officer manager Christine King last year described Kearny as "a gritty town sandwiched between Newark and Jersey City".

The Leonardo Parera fatal shooting investigative report by the Morris County Prosecutor's office did not find any other links between Parera and King that would provide a motivation for the tragic shooting. Some had suspected a romantic relationship between the two but the investigation did not find any communication between the two beyond business communications. Kings husband had stated that there was no romantic relationship between his wife and Parera.

Parera unleashed 15 bullets at King. The police officers who arrived at the parking lot to the realty office responded to Parera in kind with 65 bullets killing him as he sat in his car. We may never know what Leonardo Parera was thinking on the day he decided to shot an innocent co-worker. A sad story becomes sadder because there is no explanation for his actions. One wonders what triggered his actions. One would like closure for the King family. Even a idiotic motivation would be better than no explanation. Unfortunately, this tragic story only becomes more tragic.



The Associated Press writer(s) of the article "Morris Co. concludes probe of fatal realty office shooting; motive remains a mystery" were trying to paint the picture that Parera and King were in different parts of New Jersey. King in pristine Morris County. Parera in gritty Hudson County. Separated by distance and time. But their description of Kearny as "a gritty town sandwiched between Newark and Jersey City" was a poor choice of words. True Kearny is bordered by Jersey City and Newark is its neighbor to the West separated by the Passaic River. But is Kearny "a gritty town sandwiched between Newark and Jersey City". Sandwiched connotes that there is no breathing space in Kearny. Gritty connotes that the town is somehow dirty or rough around the edges. KOTW takes offense to this characterization.

Of course KOTW is a little partial to Kearny this is Kearny On The Web after all. KOTW welcomes the Associated Press reporters to visit Kearny and walk its streets. Kearny is far from "gritty" and its residents have never felt "sandwiched" by Jersey City or Newark. Of late Kearny has suffered, like many other towns throughout our fine nation, from the economic downturn however their are many fine residents in town making the town a vibrant mixture of cultures. There are many places of worship, cafes, fine restaurants, local civic organizations, a decent school system, and fine police and fire departments. Kearny is filled with residents who are as perplexed as the investigators from the Morris County Prosecutor's office on what motivated their neighbor to kill a co-worker for no apparent reason.

When the press interviewed neighbors of Leonardo Parera after the shooting, they discovered that there was nothing which would have led anyone to believe that he was capable of shooting anyone. Parera lived with his ailing mother and by all outward appearances was a caring son. The Morris County Prosecutor's office for sure interviewed with the assistance of the Kearny Police Department various neighbors. Knowing the quality of many Kearny residents, KOTW knows that some of those neighbors wished that they could have prevented this tragedy. As the Morris County investigation concludes there isn't any clear reason why Parera shoot and killed King. Our condolences to the King family and friends. May Christine King rest in peace.