A Newark, New Jersey, police officer was killed and another was injured in a shooting on Friday night involving a 14-year-old suspect, according to officials.
Detective Joseph Azcona, 26, was fatally shot as he exited his vehicle during a weapons investigation with multi-agency partners.
“He didn’t get a chance to get out of the vehicle before he was struck,” Newark public safety director Emmanuel Miranda said during a press conference Saturday morning.
“We are grieving,” he added. “We are hurting.”
A 14-year-old has been arrested and charged with murder, and several others have been arrested for the shooting, officials said.
Newark mayor Ras Baraka condemned the shooter’s “heinous, callous, disregard for humanity” and expressed disbelief someone so young could be involved in a shooting.
“The community has to do a better job of making sure our children are not handling guns,” he said at the press conference.
The incident took place just after 6:30pm near the intersection of Broadway and Carteret, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Another teenager, also 14, was killed in the shooting, sources told PIX11.
“Tonight is one of the darkest days for New Jersey law enforcement in recent memory," State Police Benevolent Association President Peter Andreyev said in a statement on Friday. "One young officer has died, and another is fighting for his life.”
Governor Phil Murphy visited the wounded officer privately on Friday evening.
“This is a rapidly developing situation,” he wrote in a statement. “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.”
Residents near the site of the shooting in Newark’s North Ward said they heard numerous gun shots and saw scores of police cruisers converge on the scene of the shooting, which is located near a White Castle restaurant on a busy commercial street.
“I thought they were fireworks,” Said Anthony toldThe New York Times. “Then all the cops came flying by. I’ve never seen something like this.”
“This is supposed to be one of the safest places in Newark,” he added.
The suspect fired around 29 shots during the shootout, unnamed sources told local media.
