A 14-year-old has shot and killed one police officer and injured another, Friday evening in New Jersey, according to authorities. Witnesses described a chaotic scene where they saw officers sprinting down a busy street, followed by a barrage of a dozen or more gunshots.
The deceased officer, 26-year-old Joseph Azcona, was part of a Newark police intelligence unit that had been dispatched to apprehend a suspect in an illegal weapons investigation when he was shot while seated in his vehicle, officials reported.
“He didn’t even have a chance to exit the vehicle before he was hit,” said Emanuel Miranda, Newark’s director of public safety, during a Saturday morning news conference alongside the city’s mayor and top prosecutor.
The other officer who was injured is currently hospitalized but is expected to recover, authorities stated. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka condemned the shooting as a “heinous, callous disregard for humanity.”
Teen Not Alone
Police have taken five individuals into custody, including the 14-year-old, who faces charges of murder, attempted murder, and possession of illegal weapons, according to Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stevens II.
The 14-year-old was additionally shot and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, Stevens confirmed.
He did not disclose the identities of the boy or the other four individuals in custody. They are being questioned by investigators. Stevens and Miranda provided limited information regarding the events that led to the shooting. Azcona’s injuries, the police response, or the subsequent shootout were not detailed. One firearm was recovered from the scene, Stevens noted.
Azcona had served as a member of the Newark police force for five years. He was promoted to detective two years ago.
The shooting occurred around 6:37 p.m. near the intersection of Broadway and Carteret, authorities reported. Witnesses recounted hearing a series of gunshots after observing officers running down the street. Footsteps rang out in a commercial area between a McDonald’s and a White Castle near the Passaic River.
Witness Randy Mejia told reporters that he saw officers racing down the street, and afterward, gunshots. “It sounded like a car accident, followed by a boom, boom, boom,” Mejia recalled.
The injured officers were transported to University Hospital in Newark, where Azcona was pronounced dead around 2:30 a.m. Stevens mentioned that Azcona’s mother, father, and brother were present at the hospital to mourn his loss.
Authorities have not yet released the name of the wounded officer.
