Two Shot New Jersey Officers Remain Critical

For more than six hours, it had been quiet.

Staked out in an unmarked cruiser on Reed Street in Jersey City, police Lt. Michael Kelly and Detective Marc Lavelle waited patiently for the owners of a red Ford Focus, the suspected getaway car in a near-fatal shooting last month.

The investigators knew from residents that someone moved the car every morning, abiding by alternate-side parking rules. At 5:15 a.m. Thursday, two robed figures approached in the pre-dawn murk, hoods obscuring their heads. They climbed into the Focus, dutifully parking across the street. When the pair climbed back out, Kelly and Lavelle, backed by additional officers, made their move.

"Hold, police," Lavelle shouted.

Hassan Shakur, the taller of the two figures, had a rap sheet that included busts for resisting arrest and weapons possession. On this day, he carried a stolen shotgun tucked under his right arm. At the sound of the officer's voice, he wheeled around and used it.

His decision ignited the first of two furious gunbattles that would leave five police officers injured, two of them critically, and Shakur and his girlfriend dead in their nearby apartment, a scene of such carnage that one police official referred to it as a "bloodbath."

"He wanted to go out in a blaze of glory, and unfortunately, he got what he wanted," Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey said.

Authorities last night were gathered at Jersey City Medical Center to pray and offer their support for the most seriously injured officers, Marc DiNardo, 37, a 10-year veteran who was shot twice in the face, and Michael Camacho, 25, a five-year veteran who was shot in the neck.

Both were in critical condition. Camacho, officials said, was expected to survive. DiNardo, with more severe injuries, had a "fighting chance," Mayor Jerramiah Healy said. DiNardo's heart stopped several times before he was stabilized, officials said.

Jersey City officer Frank Molina, 35, a 15-year veteran, was spared serious injury by his bulletproof vest. He was shot in the back. Lavelle, shot in the leg, was treated and released from the hospital.

Port Authority Police Officer Dennis Mitchell, 35, who was among those called in to assist, was shot in the arm and was also treated and released.

Killed in the shootout were Shakur, 32, also known as Hassan Hosendove, and Amanda G. Anderson, 22, described by police as Shakur's girlfriend.

Kelly, a member of the Jersey City major case squad and the lead detective on the near-fatal shooting in June, said Shakur and Anderson were suspected in several armed robberies in surrounding communities. He said the pair lived like "nomads," never staying at one address for long.

Neighbors said Shakur had lived in a third-floor apartment at 24 Reed St. for about six months. They described him as a tall man who appeared to be a committed Muslim, adopting robes as his only style of dress and growing a beard. For a time, he carried a staff, said Toni Jennings, 52, who lived below Shakur and Anderson.

Greg Cefaratti, 55, a chef who lived in the apartment next to the suspects, said both "seemed like religious people." Anderson, who moved in about three months ago, wore a hijab, or head covering, and also dressed exclusively in robes, Cefaratti said.

Kelly said it was about 10 p.m. Wednesday when a Jersey City officer spotted the Ford Focus, which had been stolen from South Carolina in April. The surveillance team was quickly called in.

Some six hours and 15 minutes later, Shakur made the decision to fire. Authorities said he whirled around when he was ordered to freeze, raising the shotgun and firing several times. One of the blasts hit Lavelle in the leg. Another blew out the unmarked cruiser's windshield.

"This individual came fully ready to go to war with us," Comey said, noting that the shotgun, stolen from North Carolina, was the kind typically used for tactical entries, with a capacity of eight slugs.

"This is not a normal shotgun," the chief said. "This is a gun meant for nothing other than to hunt a man."

As he fired, Shakur shed his robes and, inexplicably, the shorts he wore beneath. Anderson, authorities said, scooped up the robes and opened the door to the apartment building as police returned fire. Both suspects ran inside and up to their apartment.

Over the next 90 minutes, authorities called in reinforcements, sealed off the area and evacuated the two lower floors of the four-story building.

At about 6:45 a.m., members of the elite emergency services unit approached Shakur's unit, 3B, and demanded he open the door. When he refused, an officer went at the door with a battering ram.

Shakur, Comey said, fired three to five times with the shotgun through the partially opened door, striking officers. Other officers returned fire, shooting through the door and walls.

Julie O'Connor and Rohan Mascarenhas are reporters for The Star-Ledger. Star-Ledger reporters Mark Mueller, James Queally, David Giambusso, Jennifer Golson and Mike Rispoli contributed to this article.