Essex County officials said Saturday that a 14-year-old boy was arrested for a Friday night shooting that killed a Newark policeman and injured another boy.
Essex County Attorney Theodore N. Stephens II said in a news conference Saturday that the boy was also injured and charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of an illegal weapon. Authorities have not released the boy’s name yet.
The killed officer was identified on Saturday as 26-year-old Joseph Azcona, who served in the Newark Police Department for five years. Officials said Detective Azcona died at the University Hospital at 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
“These officials got up yesterday morning to do their work, went outside and ensure our streets were safe,” Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said in a press conference. He added that gun violence, especially among teenagers, was an urgent issue in New Jersey City. “We just have to do better. I have to do better,” he said. “It’s not a police issue. It’s our collective issue.”
The shooting that killed detective Azcona broke out at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the corner of Broadway and Carteret Street, a busy intersection in northern Newark.
According to Mr Stephens, Detective Azconner and another Newark police officer went to the area to investigate a group of people they believed were carrying illegal guns. Two officers approached the group in police cars and encountered gunfire. Stephens said Detective Azconnor was knocked down inside the car and another officer appeared to be hit outside the car.
Both officers were taken to the hospital, and a few hours later, detective Azkana died. Stephens said that morning, another unidentified official was recovering in the hospital, and he was recovering.
Newark police have arrested five people involved in the shooting, including the 14-year-old boy, who were also treated for inanimate injuries.
“We need to focus on trying to find the reason for the 14-year-old in this situation,” Stephens said at the meeting. “He has a gun and feels he can use it against the police. It’s a crazy situation. That can’t be unorganized.”
Newark’s public safety director Emanuel Miranda praised detective Azcona, calling him the intelligence unit that works as the “best man.”
“Our heart is heavy right now,” Miranda said. “Our agency is hurting. We lost a real hero last night. His mother, father and his brother mourned him in the hospital, grieving him. Our community is mourning.”
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin expressed condolences to Detective Azcona in a statement on social media and praised the support of another official, praising their work in the army. “I am in awe of their sacrifice and commitment to protecting us all,” he wrote.
The shooting caused the usual North Ward, a working-class and largely Latino shock wave in New Jersey’s largest city.
“Things don’t usually happen,” said Johnny Williams, 32, who moved to nearby Johnny Williams seven years ago. “You have to be cautious with your kids. With everything that’s going on in this world, we don’t need this right now.”
Detective Azcona’s mother, Nereida Vargas, said in a brief interview Saturday that she and her family were struggling with tragic news. She said Ms. Vargas rushed to the hospital after learning of his son’s injury, and he was with him when he died Saturday morning.
She describes her son (the youngest of four) as a passionate person who feels deeply the loss in their community.
“He has a lot of friends and a lot of families who love him,” she said.
Jack Begg Contributed to the research.
