By: Richard L. Smith
As Newark officials prepare to release the city’s latest crime statistics today, residents say recent shootings, including multiple incidents over the Christmas holiday, are keeping public safety at the forefront of community concerns.
In mid-December, a shooting at a Newark recording studio in the South Ward resulted in two deaths and two injuries, according to statements from police and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Two 20-year-old men were killed and two others were wounded in the incident, which authorities said stemmed from a confrontation among ‘individuals known to one another’.
A suspect has since been charged in connection with the case.
Earlier in November, Newark was shaken by a mass shooting that left three people dead, including a 10-year-old boy, and injured several others. 
Multiple arrests were made in that investigation, which authorities say remains active.
Over the Christmas holiday, several shots-fired incidents were reported in the city, with residents in some neighborhoods hearing bursts of gunfire and alerted police to shell casings in the street.
In one incident, officers located a vehicle struck by bullets, though no injuries were reported.
While early reports suggested five separate incidents, authorities later clarified that the shooting in the 30’s block of Jabez Street -that witnesses reported to RLS Media- did not occur.
These incidents come as Newark officials prepare to present year-end crime data that may show reductions in certain categories, even as residents in some neighborhoods say the recent violence does not align with the sense of safety described in official trends.
Newark’s overall crime levels have been trending downward over the past two years, according to city and state data.
City leaders are expected to review the numbers and outline their public-safety approach moving into the new year.
Meanwhile, residents and community advocates say they will be watching closely to see how the data reflects the lived reality of neighborhoods still grappling with the emotional and public-safety impact of repeated gun violence.