By: Richard L. Smith
NJ, the peaceful streets in the City of Orange were shattered Friday night by the sound of desperate cries for help.
A violent shooting in the 400 block of Hillside Avenue left a young male fatally wounded, prompting an outpouring of shock and grief in the Essex County community that has cheered on the welcoming signs of plummeting crime rates within the last two years.
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is leading the active and ongoing investigation, but the circumstances leading up to the incident were not readily available to the public as of Tuesday evening.
I visited the community and was told that officers were called to the neighborhood just before 11:30 p.m. after residents awoke to the chilling sounds of a person screaming outside.
“I heard the screams, and I ran to the window,” one resident told RLS Media during a visit to the area Tuesday. “He was in so much pain and falling to the ground, bleeding, calling for help — it was horrifying.”
Neighbors quickly dialed 911, and Orange police responded within minutes, securing the scene and finding the victim on the ground with what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds, including injuries to his face.
Residents told me that Orange Officers immediately began life-saving CPR until emergency responders arrived and rushed the victim to University Hospital, where he was ultimately pronounced dead just after midnight.
While police have not released the victim’s name, sources told RLS Media the victim is believed to be a 16-year-old boy.
Around the corner on Fairview Avenue, residents reported seeing a 'person' dressed in dark clothing and a mask walking through the neighborhood around the time of the shooting, raising concerns in a community already troubled by recent burglary attempts.
Detectives recovered a mask at the scene, though it remains unclear if it belonged to the victim or the suspected shooter.
As the investigation continues, Essex County officials are urging anyone with information to come forward.
For now, the neighborhood is left with the memory of a young life lost, and the unsettling echo of cries for help that still lingers.