A 25-year-old woman originally from Jamaica along with a man were killed at a birthday party in New Jersey on Saturday night.

The incident which has been described as a mass shooting claimed the lives of 25-year-old Asia Hester and 30-year-old Kevin Elliott.

Following the incident, family and friends of Hester, who have been plunged into mourning, described the 25-year-old as “hardworking”.

One family member shared that Hester had migrated from Jamaica to the United States in her early teens and had pursued a career in nursing; at the time of her death she was working at a local health care facility.

“Senseless is what it is I will never be able to figure out what makes a person blindly squeeze the trigger of a gun and kill people they didn’t mean to kill. Anyone with a conscious would never be able to sleep after doing some sick [expletive deleted]like that Well I hope whoever did it never ever has a decent night’s rest again for the rest of their lives, “ said one friend online.

“She was a hardworking person. She was a good person, very respectable,” another said of Hester.

Reports are that the violence which has been linked to “an on-going turf war” erupted at some time around 11:50 p.m.

At least 12 more people were shot in the melee.