Police-involved shooting near Newark elementary school

NEWARK, N.J. (PIX11) — The Attorney General’s Office is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred Monday night near the intersection of Hawthorne Avenue and Clinton Place in Newark, N.J.

Around 8:30 p.m., two uniformed Newark police officers spotted what they believed to be a stolen vehicle. As police were detaining a passenger in the car, a second suspect emerged from an adjacent convenience store and jumped behind the wheel.

Surveillance video shows the suspect accelerating backward and forwards. The vehicle crashed into a patrol car, veered onto the sidewalk, and hit Hawthorne Elementary School.

During the incident, one of the officers fired his service weapon, striking the driver.

Two police officers were treated for minor injuries at University Hospital and released. The driver remains in critical condition.

According to Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, the stolen car was from Connecticut, and the two adult male suspects are from Queens.

In a statement to PIX11 News, Baraka wrote, in part:

“When an incident such as this happens, it is traumatic for all involved, and its effect ripples out through the community. Our focus will be on providing comfort, relief, and recovery to all those affected and to deter the kind of unlawful actions that lead to these kinds of incidents.”

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka

Neighbors remain alert, concerned for their children and the students about to head back to Hawthorne Elementary School.

“I try to make sure my kids don’t go to the window because I don’t know what’s gonna happen, to be very honest,” said Newark mom Ifeona Okafor.

“My concerns are just when school is about to start again and the safety of the children,” said South Ward District Leader Margaret Barnes-Williams.

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