Police are trying to discover why 27 bullets – one of which hit a moving vehicle – were fired late on April 21 in the area of Baier Avenue and Philips Road.

There were no reported injuries in the shooting, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

Township police officers responding to a 9-1-1 call of shots fired shortly after 11 p.m. met a Somerset man who told them that his car had been hit by at least one of the rounds.

The man, who police did not identify, said he was driving north on Philips toward Baier, with another Somerset man as his passenger, when, police said, he heard “multiple ‘pops’ which he at first took for fireworks.

It wasn’t until he heard his car hit by a round that the Somerset man realized that the noise was caused by gunshots, police said.

An investigation of the area revealed 27 shell casings, police said.

Police are trying to determine the motive for the shooting; it is not yet known if the men in teh car were the intended target.

Anyone with information relating to this shooting is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at (908) 231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at (732) 873-5533 or via the STOPit app. The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ. Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.