On the same day two Newark police officers were shot by an alleged gunman who was still being hunted by law enforcement hours later, another shooting in the city left three people injured — including a young boy who was seen carried into the hospital.
Investigators said the second shooting occurred just before 7 p.m. near the corner of South Orange Avenue and South Ninth Street. Witnesses described hearing a barrage of gunshots, and said there were several shell casings left behind on the ground outside the Reservoir Towers apartments. Those at the scene also said that the gunfire may have come from a car.
A 6-year-old boy and two adults were struck by the bullets, according to police. The child was pulled from the back of a police car at University Hospital and rushed inside in the arms of an officer. Seconds later, the two other adult men were rushed into the hospital as well.
The child suffered a collapsed lung but is expected to survive, according to police. The two other men were also expected to survive.
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Those who witnesses the commotion were visibly shaken, and some are fed up with the ongoing violence in the city — and what they call a lack of response from City Hall.
"This madness has to stop...I’m asking you Mr. Mayor: Put a stop to this, man, because it has to stop! You need to put your foot down, we need you out here bro, put a stop to this!" said Malenda Hamlett, who came home to find her complex had become a crime scene.
So far, no arrests have yet been made. An investigation is ongoing.
