Oct 25, 2008 7:23 am US/Eastern
Newark Drive-By Shooters Kill 2
Two Others Injured In Incidents That Are Believed To Be Connected; Mayor Booker Furious: 'We Will Not Accept It'
NEWARK (CBS) ―
Two people were killed and two others injured after they were each shot in five separate drive-by-shootings throughout Newark on Friday.
Police have not identified the victims, but said several were being treated at Newark's University hospital.
The shootings occurred at 2:15, 2:35, 2:40, 2:55, and at 3:05 p.m. Friday.
Police said a 24-year-old woman was pronounced dead on arrival after being shot at 174 Boyd St., near the 18th Avenue School, where at least 10 shots were fired.
The other deceased victim was a 21-year-old man also pronounced dead on arrival at 22 Ridgewood Ave.
Police said in another shooting, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the ribs on Irvine Turner Boulevard near the Queen of Angels School. That victim is believed to be in critical condition at a local hospital.
A fourth victim, a 27-year-old man, was shot in the elbow near Chadwick and Clinton streets.
Police gave chase to a white Infiniti SUV, the vehicle believed to be involved in all of the incidents, before losing it on Route 78 in northern New Jersey, Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy said. Investigators recovered .40-caliber casings from the scene, and a video camera at at least one of the scenes captured still photos of the suspect vehicle, he said.
In an afternoon news conference, Mayor Cory Booker appeared visibly angry and emotional from the circumstances.
"The city as a whole is obviously hurting as a result of this. We give our grief to the families," said Booker. "I am determined that we will capture the individuals responsible for this. This city does not tolerate this kind of grievous violence anymore. We will not accept it. We were making tremendous progress this year."
The shootings are all believed to be connected, but it's not known what the motive is or how the victims may be linked.
"This is not Newark," said Booker, who has made fighting crime the centerpiece of his administration, at an afternoon news conference. "We are a city of peace and a city of strength."
The shooting spree comes 15 months after the execution-style slayings of three college-bound friends in a schoolyard thrust the city 15 miles west of New York into an unwanted spotlight.
Following those deaths, a plan to install street cameras was given greater urgency and 32 cameras were installed by the end of September.
Newark police spokesman Todd McClendon said some of the surveillance of the vehicle the police are seeking was picked up by the recently installed cameras.
Booker has said the 109 cameras currently in use mark the end of the first phase of a project that will eventually include a gunshot detection system as well as surveillance cameras to catch people running red lights.
Perceptions of Newark may have hit a low point in early 2007, after a year in which 106 homicides were committed in the city.
The escalating violence prompted the Newark Teachers Union to pay for several billboards that screamed: "HELP WANTED: Stop The Killings In Newark Now!"
However, the homicide rate has been heading for a 10-year low. There were 45 murders in Newark in 2008 as of Oct. 5, on-track to beat the 10-year low of 59 homicides set in 2000.
Stay with wcbstv.com and CBS 2 for the latest in this developing story.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
World's Most Useless Facts
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments