Search For Shooter Continues After Deadly Violence In Newark, Victims Identified

NEWARK, NJ — “Turn yourselves in before we come knocking on your door.” That’s the message from police in Essex County as they continue their probe into a deadly shooting that claimed two lives and wounded three other people in Newark last weekend.

The shooting took place on the 300-block of Chancellor Avenue around 7 p.m. on Saturday, according to a statement from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Newark Department of Public Safety.

Two victims – a 10-year-old boy and a 21-year-old woman – were pronounced dead at University Hospital. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office identified the deceased as Jordan Garcia, 10, and Kiyah Mae Scott, 21.

Three other people were wounded: an 11-year-old boy – who is Garcia’s brother – a 19-year-old male and a 60-year-old man.

Garcia’s brother and the 60-year-old are in stable condition, and the 19-year-old is in critical condition, authorities said.

Essex County public safety officials held a news conference on Monday to discuss Saturday night’s tragic shooting. Watch video footage from the press conference here, or view it below.

Details of the investigation were still sparse, including whether the violence involved multiple shooters or a single person. However, authorities said they are leaving no stone unturned – and urged those responsible to turn themselves in.

“Our investigators are still canvassing and reviewing all videos and looking for all evidence at the scene,” Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens said.

Stephens said there is currently no indication that there was gang involvement in the shooting, but added that an investigation remains ongoing.

“There are too many guns on the street,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said during Monday’s press conference.

“Folks have too much access to guns in our communities, and we absolutely have, positively have to do something about that – making sure guns are not in the hands of people who don't need them or shouldn't have them,” Baraka said.

The mayor said that the perpetrators behind Saturday’s shooting should surrender themselves to police immediately.

“The entire community is on alert,” he said. “All of our partners, from the federal partners, the state to the city, local partners, are involved in this, all of our community groups and churches and religious institutions, all of our neighbors and family members who we've been talking to throughout the weekend, everybody is clear on what needs to happen: that these perpetrators need to turn themselves in immediately.”

Essex County Sheriff Amir Jones also said the shooter or shooters need to surrender.

“What happened to them was beyond tragic,” Jones said, mourning the victims. “It is brutal, it is senseless … their families are living through hell, and they deserve justice without delay.”

Jones turned his attention to those responsible for the shooting.

“What you did was cowardly, heartless and unforgivable,” he said. “You shattered families and shook an entire city. You prove nothing but your own weakness. So hear me clearly: we are coming. There is no hiding, there is no running, there is no there is nothing that will change what's coming. There's no corner of this county, no block, no basement, no friend’s couch that will keep you hidden. Turn yourselves in before we come knocking on your door.”

“And trust me, you know the door won't slow us down,” Jones said.

A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered through the Essex County Crime Stoppers program for information leading to an arrest in this case.

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.

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CRIME STATISTICS IN NEWARK

According to the Essex County prosecutor, last weekend’s shooting took place amid a general downward trend in local crime.

“Here in the City of Newark, the stats say that homicides have decreased from year 2022, a total of 81, down to this year, where at this point in November, there are 38 homicides,” Stephens said. “So if we extrapolate that out for the rest of the year, that's more than a 50 percent decrease in terms of homicides in the City of Newark.”

This mirrors county, state and nation trends, he added.

“So this makes the events of this weekend particularly vexing and particularly difficult, and why we have are not wasting or not withholding any resources,” Stephens said. “Everything is being utilized to try to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible, bring these perpetrators to justice.”

“I'm sure anybody who knows the history of urban America is you make two steps forward or one step back – or sometimes one step forward, two steps back,” Stephens said. “So there are always detractors who want to take one isolated incident and make it into a trend or something that is just not true.”

“The facts speak for themselves,” he said.

Mayor Baraka also noted that Newark has seen a “historic reduction in violence” over the past few years. However, he added that Saturday’s shooting is a “vivid reminder that there is so much more work we must do.”

• See Related: Violent Crime Increased In Newark In 2024 – But Is Still Much Lower Than Past Decades
• See Related: Homicides At Historic Low In Essex County, Prosecutors Say
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