N.J. Police Officer Shot, Wounded while Questioning Suspect

Dec. 15, 2021
A Newark police officer was taken to the hospital in stable condition after a suspect he was questioning "pulled out a gun and began opening fire without provocation," according to the mayor.

A Newark police officer was shot Tuesday night and suffered an injury that is considered to be non-life-threatening, city Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara confirmed.

The officer was wounded around 8:35 p.m. near 14th Avenue and 14th Street in the city, according to O’Hara, who said the officer was reported to be in stable condition at University Hospital.

“A suspect is in custody and a gun has been recovered,” he said in an email.

The public safety director commended “officers involved in this incident for their bravery in facing an armed suspect.”

Authorities did not immediately release more information, and it was unclear what led up to the shooting.

In a televised interview on ABC7 New York Tuesday night, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the police officer was shot while the suspect was being questioned.

“They (police) approached an individual who obviously was suspicious and asked him a few questions. Before the conversation ended, the gentleman pulled out a gun and began opening fire without provocation and struck one of the officers,” Baraka said.

“By the grace of God, he’s doing well,” the mayor added.

Baraka said the suspect was quickly arrested “without any other shots being fired.”

ABC7 reported that the injured police officer, who is in his 20s and a member of the police department’s intelligence unit, was struck in the groin, and his family was visiting him at the hospital.

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