By: Richard L. Smith
Authorities have identified the man wounded in a police-involved shooting during a tense standoff in Newark earlier this week, in which he allegedly used a child as a shield.
According to information released by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, 34-year-old Shaquan Landrum, of Hillside, was shot and injured during the July 28 encounter and remains hospitalized at University Hospital in Newark.
Investigators said members of the U.S. Marshals Service NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force were assisting Newark Police in serving an arrest warrant for Landrum, stemming from attempted murder and related charges linked to a prior incident in Hillside.
When officers located Landrum inside a home on Irvine Turner Boulevard near West Bigelow Street, he allegedly barricaded himself and used a child as a shield while firing multiple gunshots over a 20-minute period, striking objects, including a police vehicle officers were using for cover.
A Newark Police Emergency Services Unit Officer returned fire, wounding Landrum.
A search of the home uncovered a rifle and an untraceable “ghost gun.” No officers were injured during the incident.
Landrum now faces a range of charges filed by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of an assault firearm, possession of a ghost gun, and endangering the welfare of a child, among other offenses.
The criminal investigation into these charges is ongoing.
Authorities stressed that Landrum is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.