Man Fatally Shot By Police In NJ Carried Imitation Gun: AG

PATERSON, NJ - A man who died in a police-involved shooting in Passaic County earlier this month was carrying an imitation gun when confronted by police, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said.

The fatal shooting took place on Oct. 10 at around 4:12 p.m. when a driver involved in a car crash near Straight and Van Houten Streets in Paterson began attempting to enter several vehicles while fleeing the scene, authorities said.

The driver, identified as Hui Zhang, 33, of Pensacola, Florida, was also “armed with what appeared to be a handgun,” the attorney general’s office said at the time.

Following a foot chase involving an officer of the Paterson Police Department, Detective Victor Lora of the Paterson Police Department fired his service weapon during a confrontation with Zhang.

Zhang was pronounced deceased at the scene at 4:23 p.m., officials said, adding that a 9mm P.A.K. Zoraki Semiautomatic Blank Pistol – an imitation gun – was recovered near his body.

The state Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability opens an investigation anytime a fatal police-involved shooting is reported.

The investigation is ongoing. No further information is being released at this time, officials said.