Details Sought In Shooting Incident: South Orange Cops (Update)

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - A series of gunshots that sent residents fleeing and prompted a multi-agency response from police Saturday night in South Orange has yielded no victims and no suspects, according to South Orange Chief of Police Kyle Kroll.

According authorities, at 11:12 p.m. on Saturday the South Orange Police Department responded to the vicinity of Sloan Street after officers on foot details in the area heard what appeared to be “gunshots.”

Upon canvassing, no victims were identified and officers secured the area with the assistance of mutual aid from other police agencies including Maplewood, West Orange, Millburn, Livingston, Bloomfield, NJ Transit and Essex County officers.

Those investigators later found five 9mm shell casings one block away in the alleyway adjacent to the Bank of America building between South Orange Avenue and Lot 9, Kroll said.

The preliminary investigation indicates that there may have been an altercation between youth
that led to the gunshots. The gunshots at this time are believed to have been fired upward into the air, Kroll said.

According to Kroll, the shots fired are not believed to be related to the “Pride Under the Stars” dance party which was being held on Sloan Street at the time of the incident and was well attended. According to officer accounts, there were hundreds of youth in the downtown area at the time of the incident in addition to the party-goers, Kroll said.

Kroll said there was one minor injury to an individual who was leaving from the scene and was treated by the South Orange Rescue Squad and released.

Detectives are currently reviewing video surveillance in the area to gather more details, and Kroll noted no arrests made at this time. Police said this is a fluid and ongoing investigation and the Detective Bureau is urging anyone with information related to this incident to contact the South Orange Police Department at 973-763-3000.

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