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2 Newark Police Officers Shot by Gunman on Rooftop, Officials Say 2 Newark Police Officers Shot While Responding to 911 Call, Officials Say
(about 4 hours later)
Two police officers were shot on Tuesday afternoon by a gunman perched on a rooftop in Newark, the largest city in New Jersey, law enforcement and state officials said. Two uniformed police officers were shot on Tuesday afternoon in Newark, the largest city in New Jersey, as they responded to a 911 call about a man wanted for a separate shooting there last week, law enforcement and state officials said.
A law enforcement official said that two uniformed Newark Police Department officers were shot, one in the leg and one in the shoulder. Another official said that their injuries were not life threatening. The gunman remained at large on Tuesday afternoon. The officers, from the Newark Police Department, were shot at close range in a parking lot behind an apartment building on a quiet street of tidy homes, neat lawns and yellowing maple trees. A law enforcement official said one officer was shot in the leg and the other in the shoulder, and that neither of their injuries was life-threatening.
State Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, who represents the city in the state legislature, said they were shot by a gunman firing a long gun from the roof of a building in the area. He said the injured officers had been taken to University Hospital in Newark. The gunman remained at large on Tuesday night. A law enforcement official said the man wanted in connection with last week’s shooting was the primary suspect in the shooting on Tuesday.
“We don’t know what the end result is going to be,” said Mr. Caputo. “It’s traumatic. In this day and age you never know when something like this is going to happen.” Ras J. Baraka, the mayor of Newark, said at a news conference on Tuesday night that the gunman was believed to be inside the apartment building. He urged local residents to stay indoors while police officers went “apartment to apartment” in search of the man. He declined to identify the injured officers or the suspected shooter but said that law enforcement officials believed they knew who the gunman was.
The police blocked off several blocks of Chancellor Avenue, a residential area of tidy homes, neat lawns and yellowing maple trees. Emergency vehicles swarmed the scene on Tuesday afternoon and several helicopters hovered overhead. “They have identified him,” the mayor said at the news conference. “So yes, we’re clear on who it is. Absolutely.”
Later in the afternoon, police slowly drove a military-style crane down the street past stately brick houses, with a shielded and elevated platform held aloft in front of it. Mr. Baraka said the officers came to the building, at 25 Van Velson Place, shortly after someone called 911 to report a sighting of the man wanted for last week’s shooting. Officers did not find the man inside the building but ran into him on their way outside.
Mr. Caputo said the neighborhood, known as Newark’s South Ward, was “a nice area,” but that “in this day and age no place is immune to violence.” “When they were leaving the building, he was likely entering the building,” the mayor said. He said the officers were shot “at close, close range” but were both in stable condition.
The Newark Police Department made little information publicly available in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. The injured officers were not publicly identified, and no information about their condition was available. The identity of the gunman and the motive for the attack also were not known. State Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, who represents the city in the state legislature, had told The New York Times earlier on Tuesday that the officers were shot by a gunman firing from the roof of a building in the area, but the mayor said that was not the case.
Barry Eisen, the manager of a building at 103 Chancellor Ave., said he got a panicked phone call on Tuesday from the building superintendent, who said he had seen a man he knew in the area with a weapon. The police taped off several blocks of Chancellor Avenue, and emergency vehicles swarmed the scene on Tuesday afternoon. Several helicopters hovered overhead.
“The super saw the rifle,” Mr. Eisen said. Later in the afternoon, police slowly drove a military-style crane down the street past stately brick houses, with a shielded and elevated platform held aloft in front of it. Federal, state and local law enforcement authorities were at the scene on Tuesday assisting the Newark Police Department, a law enforcement official said.
Tanisha Arrington, 34, watched the chaos erupt on Tuesday. She heard a burst of gunfire and looked across the street to see an officer limping to take cover behind a pole. A second officer was lying prone across a clump of bushes beside a police car in an alley.
Another round of gunfire erupted, and Ms. Arrington said a man next to her on the sidewalk yelled at a group of nearby officers to go retrieve their fallen colleagues.
“He’s shot!” Ms. Arrington said the man yelled. “Come help! He’s shot! Come get your partner!”
She watched as the group of officers poured into the alley to retrieve the injured men.
The mayor said the gunman fired the first shot, but that officers returned fire.
“The gentleman retreated back into the building and we are, right now, we are clearing the building out,” he told reporters.
D’Andre Mentor, 23, was working from home in his apartment on Chancellor Avenue when he heard a commotion outside that made him run downstairs.D’Andre Mentor, 23, was working from home in his apartment on Chancellor Avenue when he heard a commotion outside that made him run downstairs.
A few blocks down the wide, tree-lined street he could see what looked like more than a dozen police officers surrounding a building. A few blocks away down the wide, tree-lined street he could see what looked like more than a dozen police officers surrounding a building.
Suddenly, a car near the group of police burst into flames, but the police seemed to ignore it, focusing on the building in front of them, he said. A few minutes later, a fire truck came and extinguished the blaze, he said.Suddenly, a car near the group of police burst into flames, but the police seemed to ignore it, focusing on the building in front of them, he said. A few minutes later, a fire truck came and extinguished the blaze, he said.
“You came outside and boom, it’s a whole standoff happening outside your house,” Mr. Mentor said. “Nothing like this ever happens here.”“You came outside and boom, it’s a whole standoff happening outside your house,” Mr. Mentor said. “Nothing like this ever happens here.”
Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey said he was “aware of and closely monitoring an unfolding situation in Newark.” As law enforcement officers and the news media descended upon the generally quiet corner of Newark, local residents came outside to watch the scene. They leaned against porch railings and craned their necks to peer over the crowds and the caution tape.
“I am in touch with local authorities and the State is providing resources as requested,” he said on Twitter. “We will continue to support local law enforcement and ensure that all residents are safe.” Antonieo Williams, 49, a food delivery worker, said many people in Newark felt like the police contributed to an environment that often felt unsafe. He was afraid the police would kill the gunman when they found him.
The shooting comes amid growing concerns over crime and disorder in New York and across the country. Mr. Williams said shootings in the area were not unheard of, but the large influx of police officers and journalists on Tuesday was. Yaquis Jones, 49, a construction worker, agreed.
“When a police officer gets shot they send in the army, they send in the cavalry,” Mr. Jones said. “A human life is a human life — this is what the response should be every time a person gets shot. But they’re not going do that for us.”
Indeed, the shooting comes amid growing concerns over crime and disorder in New York and across the country.
“This level of violence must be stopped and condemned by everyone,” Patrick Colligan, the president of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, a union that represents more than 33,000 law enforcement officers, said on Twitter.“This level of violence must be stopped and condemned by everyone,” Patrick Colligan, the president of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, a union that represents more than 33,000 law enforcement officers, said on Twitter.
But official statistics sometimes complicate those fears.But official statistics sometimes complicate those fears.
Crime in New York City approached record lows before the pandemic, and remains safer than at many times in its troubled past. The number of murders in the city is lower than in many other large cities in the United States, but crimes like burglary, auto theft, rape and felony assault have risen significantly in recent years.Crime in New York City approached record lows before the pandemic, and remains safer than at many times in its troubled past. The number of murders in the city is lower than in many other large cities in the United States, but crimes like burglary, auto theft, rape and felony assault have risen significantly in recent years.
And crime in Newark has risen only slightly — 2 percent — since this time last year, according to statistics released at the end of October by the Newark Police Department. And crime in Newark has risen only slightly — 2 percent — since this time last year, according to statistics released at the end of October by the Newark Police Department. That included a decline in violent crimes, including rape, murder and aggravated assault, but significant increases in all kinds of robbery and theft.
That included a decline in violent crimes, including rape, murder and aggravated assault, but significant increases in all kinds of robbery and theft. William K. Rashbaum, Hurubie Meko and Shlomo Schorr contributed reporting. Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.
Federal, state and local law enforcement authorities were at the scene on Tuesday assisting the Newark Police Department, a law enforcement official said.
The shooting on Tuesday happened a short distance from Newark Liberty International Airport, a major gateway for travelers and commerce to the New York region.
Nearby, normal life seemed to continue despite the violence a few streets away. High school students filled the sidewalk after they were dismissed at the end of the school day. Not so high above the police tape and emergency vehicles, the roar of airplanes flying low into and out of Newark airport could be heard.
William K. Rashbaumand Hurubie Meko contributed reporting.