1 police officer killed, 1 injured in shooting in Newark, New Jersey; Teen charged with murder
A 14-year-old has been charged with murder after a police officer was killed and another was injured in a shooting Friday evening in Newark, New Jersey.
Officer Joseph Azcona, a five-year veteran of the Newark Police Department, was pronounced dead after being taken to University Hospital in Newark, the Essex County prosecutor's office said.
Armed teens reported in area before shooting
Police said the officers were responding to reports of teenagers carrying guns near Broadway and Carteret Avenue just after 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Azcona "was shot before he even had an opportunity to leave his police car," Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said Saturday morning during a press conference.
The second officer remains hospitalized with injuries that are not expected to be life-threatening, Stephens said. The officer's name was not released.
Authorities said the teenage suspect was shot and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries as well. They were also charged with attempted murder and illegal weapons possession, Stephens said.
Several more people were taken into custody and are being questioned by police, officials said.
Witness says officers were running down street before Newark police shooting
"It sounded like a car accident, and it went boom, boom boom," said witness Randy Mejia, who works in the area.
Mejia says right before the shooting, he saw officers running.
"They were chasing, but I don't know if they were chasing somebody. I saw maybe four cops on the way down toward the street," he said. "They were running down the street."
Officers from neighboring communities gathered outside University Hospital on Friday night to show support for the Newark Police Department. CBS News New York has been told New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was also visiting the injured officer at the hospital.
"I have been updated on an incident that took place in Newark earlier tonight involving two officers that were shot," Murphy said in a post on X. "This is a rapidly developing situation. Please pray for these officers, their families, and all our men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line to keep us safe."
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement that his "office is closely monitoring the tragic shooting that took place in Newark this evening. Our law enforcement officers put themselves in harm's way every day to protect our communities, and tonight is a painful reminder of the depth of the sacrifices they make. Please keep the entire Newark Police Department and the families of our officers in your thoughts as we pray for both officers shot in the line of duty tonight."
