Police in Newark were stretched thin in resources responding to multiple reports of shots fired in several shootings that began at the beginning of the month, leaving over a dozen victims shot, with two males dead on streets around the city.
Police said at 1 p.m. on Friday, shooters began firing shots in residential and commercial districts around the city where some of these reported incidents resulted in injuries, according to police.
In the first shots-fired incident, armed men repeatedly fired shots at males standing near Mount Vernon Place and Eastern Parkway.
Newark West Ward Police scrambled to the scene then taped off the area after they found shell casings and a person suffering non-fatal gunshot injuries.
Police say the suspects sped away from the scene in a gray SUV with temporary license plates. That vehicle was found unoccupied in the area of Eastern Parkway and Putnam Street.
Residents told RLS Media that the suspects jumped out of the car and ran from the scene.
At approximately 3:15 p.m. Friday, residents in the 100 block of South 7th Street (between 12th and 11th avenues) ducked in their homes for cover after shooters fired multiple rounds in the area that reportedly struck one person and caused property damage at that location. Non-fatal injuries were reported for the victim.
Over in Newark's Central Ward, gunfire rang out near 54 Kent Street just before 4:05 p.m., sending police to the scene where officers recovered just under a dozen shell casings after gunmen fired rounds from a rifle in the direction of males in the area.
Police say they received reports of the shooting from a ShotSpotter device that alerted them of multiple rounds on Kent Street. Officers searched the area for victims but did not find anyone, according to reports.
According to officials, the NPD-1 helicopter was called in to assist in a shots-fired incident that erupted in the vicinity of 461 Peshine Avenue on Friday night.
Police say gunfire erupted in the South Ward community just before 9:35 p.m. where officers arrived and found several shell casings but no victims.
NPD-1 and police officers on the ground canvassed the area for suspects, but no arrests were immediately reported.
Several minutes after the Peshine Avenue shooting, Newark West Upper Ward officers were dispatched to the vicinity of Alexander Street and Lindsley Avenue after several residents dialed 911 to report shooting outside their homes around 9:50 p.m.
Units arrived and found shell casings, but no victims after officers canvassed the neighborhood.
According to police, at around 11 p.m., a suspect blasted rounds on Halsey and Central Avenue, causing non-fatal injuries. Rutgers Police arrived at the scene and initiated the investigation.
Newark Police said gunfire spilled over into Saturday when shooters reportedly targeted two victims in the area of Warren Street and Norfolk Street. Both victims were transported to University Hospital for treatment and the suspects remain at-large.
According to police, a child was struck by shrapnel after a suspect fired multiple rounds in the single-digit block of Goodwin Avene Saturday night around 8:20 p.m.
The child suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
According to preliminary information, 15 individuals have been confirmed shot in Newark, with two of these victims suffering fatal injuries.
All of the shootings are under investigation.
The city reportedly experienced no shots fired incidents on Sunday.