Woman Killed in Newark Car Shooting Was Bystander: Prosecutors

Two people were shot and killed during a car chase in Newark Monday

Authorities say one of two people shot near a Newark intersection is thought to have been an innocent bystander who was waiting in a car at a stoplight.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray says shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, a Jeep had been chasing an Oldsmobile near the intersection of Irvine Turner Boulevard and Spruce Streets when the Oldsmobile crashed into another car and the occupants of the Jeep opened fire on the Oldsmobile.

Murray says 43 year-old Velma Cuttino of Newark, who was a front-seat passenger in a different car waiting at the stoplight, was fatally shot in the crossfire.

Twenty-two year-old Wesley Childs of Newark, who was riding in the Oldsmobile, was also killed.

Investigators are looking into whether Childs or others in his vehicle were targeted.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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