Paterson man shot and killed Wednesday in city's 7th homicide of 2024

PATERSON — A city man was shot and killed early Wednesday morning near a stretch of freight railroad tracks at Ellison Street in Paterson’s 4th Ward, law enforcement sources said.

The shooting pushed Paterson’s homicide total for 2024 to seven, the same number of people who were killed in the city at this point last year.

Police were dispatched to the scene of the shooting at 1:37 a.m. and found the 39-year-old victim lying face down with a gunshot wound. They tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The railroad tracks where Wednesday’s shooting happened have been used for years as a makeshift encampment by homeless drug addicts. Just a day earlier, Mayor Andre Sayegh posted photos on Facebook showing the dramatic results of a major cleanup effort by the property owner, NYSW Railroad Corp.

Police sources said the victim of Wednesday’s shooting did not appear to be one of the people who sleep near the tracks. It could have been someone walking through the area as a shortcut.

This story will be updated when additional information becomes available.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson man shot and killed Wednesday in city's 7th homicide of 2024