Two suspects on a moped drove past a car near 105 Wilkinson Avenue in Jersey City on Monday night and threw acid on five women, sending all five to hospital, according to NBC News and PIX11.

The substance used in the attack was believed to be sulfuric acid, News 12 New Jersey reported. Sulfuric acid causes severe chemical burns on contact with skin, with damage accelerating the longer the substance remains on the body. The extent and severity of the victims' injuries have not yet been publicly confirmed by officials.

The attack follows a pattern of acid assaults that public health and law enforcement analysts have tracked with increasing concern in urban centers. Such incidents — deliberate, targeted, and executed in seconds — present a distinct investigative challenge: suspects are mobile, the weapon is unregulated and widely available, and the window between the act and the ability to pursue is effectively zero. Moped-based delivery of corrosive substances has been documented in multiple jurisdictions, most extensively in the United Kingdom, where law enforcement eventually pushed for tighter controls on acid sales alongside higher mandatory minimum sentences.

Jersey City police have not publicly named suspects or confirmed a motive as of June 16, 2026. The investigation is active. Whether the attack was targeted at the specific individuals or opportunistic has not been established in available reporting.

For investigators, the immediate forensic priorities are straightforward: recovering surveillance footage along Wilkinson Avenue, identifying the moped through plate or description, and tracing the acquisition of the acid. Corrosive attacks of this type rarely leave the perpetrators anonymous for long when urban camera networks are dense — Jersey City sits directly across from Manhattan and has invested substantially in public surveillance infrastructure.

The victims' prognosis and the specific hospital receiving them have not been confirmed in the sourced reporting available. Chemical burn treatment — including immediate irrigation, potential surgical debridement, and long-term reconstructive care — can be protracted and costly, making victim support resources a secondary but real concern in the aftermath.

No charges had been announced by the time of publication.