One police officer was killed and another was injured in a shooting Friday evening in Newark, New Jersey. Both officers were members of the Newark Police Department.
The shooting occurred just after 6:30 p.m. near Broadway and Carteret Avenue.
Both officers were taken to University Hospital in Newark, the Essex County prosecutor’s office said. The Newark Fraternal Order of Police, the department’s police union, confirms to CBS News New York one officer died at the hospital.
Sources tell CBS News New York the alleged shooter is a juvenile and has been taken into custody. That suspect was also shot and injured, according to sources.
Details regarding what led up to the shooting were not immediately released. The investigation was described by the prosecutor’s office as “active and ongoing.”
Witness says officers were running down street before Newark police shooting
“It sounded like a car accident, and it went boom, boom boom,” said witness Randy Mejia, who works in the area.
Mejia says right before the shooting, he saw officers running.
“They were chasing, but I don’t know if they were chasing somebody. I saw maybe four cops on the way down toward the street,” he said. “They were running down the street.”
Officers from neighboring communities gathered outside University Hospital on Friday night to show support for the Newark Police Department. CBS News New York has been told New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was also visiting the injured officer at the hospital.
“I have been updated on an incident that took place in Newark earlier tonight involving two officers that were shot,” Murphy said in a post on X. “This is a rapidly developing situation. Please pray for these officers, their families, and all our men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line to keep us safe.”
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement that his “office is closely monitoring the tragic shooting that took place in Newark this evening. Our law enforcement officers put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect our communities, and tonight is a painful reminder of the depth of the sacrifices they make. Please keep the entire Newark Police Department and the families of our officers in your thoughts as we pray for both officers shot in the line of duty tonight.”
