Off-duty Essex County sheriff's officer exchanges gunfire with suspect who tried to steal his car
Published: Sunday, December 19, 2010, 2:25 PM Updated: Sunday, December 19, 2010, 9:41 PM
Newark Police and Essex County Sheriff's Officers investigate the scene on Renner Avenue in Newark where car]jackers attempted to steal a Mercedes belonging to an off-duty Essex County Sheriff's Officer.NEWARK — A man was shot and killed in Newark tonight, capping a violent weekend in Essex County that saw nine reported carjackings, nine shootings and three attempted carjackings, authorities said.
The fatal shooting occurred on Lindsley Avenue in the city’s Vailsburg neighborhood at around 7:30 p.m., said Anthony Ambrose, chief of detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
The victim was not identified, and no other details were immediately available.
Earlier today, an off-duty Essex County sheriff’s officer shot at one of two suspects who had fired at the officer while trying to his vehicle outside his home in Newark, authorities said.
No one was injured, but the officer was taken to Beth Israel Medical Center and treated for high blood pressure and trauma, said Kevin Lynch, a spokesman for the Essex County Sheriff’s Office. The officer, who was not identified, was later released. The two suspects fled in their Jeep and were still at large today. A vehicle matching the general description of the Jeep was used about an hour later in another carjacking, Ambrose said.
The two suspects confronted the officer on Ronner Avenue in the Weequahic section around 1 p.m. and tried to steal his vehicle, Ambrose said.
One of the suspects fired at the sheriff’s officer, who returned fire, Ambrose said. No one was struck in the exchange of gunfire, he said. The second carjacking Sunday occurred on Ellery Avenue, about three miles from where the earlier incident occurred.
Most of the violence this weekend was concentrated in Newark, where there were seven shootings and seven carjackings since Friday morning, Ambrose said. Three of the shootings happened on Friday, three on Saturday and two today.
All but one of the incidents were non-fatal, including a shooting on Friday night during which a Newark police sergeant opened fire on an armed suspect after an altercation. That suspect remained in critical condition today, Ambrose said.
On Friday and Saturday, there was one carjacking in Irvington and one in West Orange, along with attempted carjackings in East Orange and Orange, Ambrose said. The victim of the attempted carjacking in Orange was shot but survived, he said.
By Alexi Friedman and Ben Horowitz/Star-Ledger Staff
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