Newark Sees 4th Multiple Shooting In A Month: 4 Shot, 1 Dead

NEWARK, NJ — New Jersey’s largest city experienced its fourth multiple shooting in just over three weeks on Sunday.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, authorities are investigating a shooting in Newark that left one man dead and three others wounded.

Police responded to the 400-block of Orange Street at 2:58 p.m., where they found four people suffering from gunshot wounds. Julius K. Ferguson, 38, of Newark, was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:20 a.m., and the three other victims were taken to University Hospital and treated for nonfatal injuries.

No arrests have been made. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force is investigating the shooting. Authorities said anyone with information can contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office tips line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.

OTHER RECENT SHOOTINGS IN NEWARK

Three people died by gunfire in Newark on May 3, including a 7-year-old child.

Authorities said Newark police responded to a 9-1-1 call about a shooting inside a home on the 300-block of Johnson Avenue at 8:34 p.m. When police entered the residence, they found a man dead from a gunshot wound and a boy who had been struck by gunfire. The child was transported to University Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at 9:14 p.m. A third victim, an adult male, also suffered a gunshot wound and was treated at Beth Israel Medical Center for non-fatal injuries.

Meanwhile, police encountered an adult male with a gun running away from the home where the victims had been shot. Several officers engaged in a foot pursuit, and two fired their weapons, fatally wounding the man.

• Read More: 3 Dead After 'Tragic' Shooting In Newark, Including Child (UPDATED)

A shooting in New Jersey’s largest city left one man dead and two others injured on April 30.

Newark police responded to a report of a shooting at the 800 block of 18th Avenue in Newark. Police found three victims suffering from gunshot wounds; one was pronounced dead at the scene.

• Read More: 3 Shot In Newark, 1 Dies; No Arrests Made, Authorities Say

A shooting on April 15 killed one person and wounded three others.

Newark police responded to a report of a shooting on the 400-block of Leslie Street in Newark, near Chancellor Avenue. Police found four victims suffering from gunshot wounds.

An arrest has since been made in that case, authorities said.

• Read More: Irvington Man Charged With Murder After Multiple Shooting In Newark

NEW APPROACH TO FIGHTING VIOLENCE IN NEWARK

Over the past few years, Newark public safety officials have been taking a new approach towards easing violence in the city. It involves treating shootings and other violence as a “public health issue,” while also continuing with more traditional police responses such as adding patrols in neighborhoods with a “high concentration of crime.”

• See Related: Dreams Of Peace Endure In Newark Amid Wave Of Gun Violence
• See Related: Newark Will Take $12M From Police, Reinvest In Social Services

Nonprofits, groups and community leaders across the city have been tapped in an attempt to address the root causes of violence, reaching out to local youth and holding peace marches across Newark. Meanwhile, city-employed social workers have graduated and taken the field alongside cops, a significant addition in an area where about one in four calls that police get are for “social intervention.”

• See Related: Newark Cops Rescue Suicidal Teen: 'Hold On, Brother, We Care'
• See Related: Shoeless In A Rainstorm: Newark Cops Assist Boy With Autism

Newark public safety officials say the new approach been paying off. The city’s homicide rate is the lowest it has been in nearly six decades, with 50 homicides reported in 2022 – the smallest number since 1963. Read More: Newark Saw Less Homicides And Violent Crime In 2022, Officials Say

But there is still a lot of work to be done, residents say.

Even though several criminal justice experts have pointed to the “groundbreaking success” of Newark’s new approach to policing, the violence – when it happens – is still a “collectively felt trauma” for those neighborhoods, local organizers previously told Patch.

Sonia Rogers, a longtime Newark resident who has lost three sons to gun violence, recently spoke at an emotional news conference about her feelings of loss – and her hope for the future.

According to Rogers, “it takes a village to raise a child.” And she is endorsing the city’s new approach to fighting the violence that claimed the lives of her children.

“I have seen how violence shows up at our front door, enters our homes, and removes from us what we value the most,” Rogers said, discussing her three sons, who were shot and killed in Newark between 2011 and 2015.

“It may seem sudden, but in fact it gives its signs every day, everywhere,” she said. “It’s in the schools, on the streets while we are at work, on cellphones and at home.”

“We must continue working together to protect our children,” Rogers implored.

• See Related: Newark Mom Lost 3 Sons To Violence. She's Helping Her City Fight Back
• See Related: Newark Teacher Fights Youth Violence With Black History, 'Self-Esteem'

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