A New Jersey police officer who lost his life after being gunned down allegedly by a 14-year-old boy on a shooting spree has been identified.
Joseph Azcona, 26, a five-year veteran, died in the hospital from his injuries after he was shot ‘before he even had the opportunity to leave his police car,’ Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens said at a press conference on Saturday.
Azcona, who was a detective for the Newark Police Department, was pronounced dead at 2:30 am on Saturday surrounded by his parents and brothers.
‘He has a lot of friends and a lot of family who loved him,’ his mother said of her youngest to The New York Times.
‘We lost a true hero last night,’ Emmanuel Miranda, Newark’s public safety director, said at a press conference. ‘Our hearts are heavy, we’re leaning on one another for support.’
A second officer was also shot outside of the cruiser and is recovering in the hospital from non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said on Saturday.
Five suspects, including a 14-year-old, are in police custody and authorities managed to secure one of the guns used in the shooting.
The teen has been charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of an illegal weapon. He is currently in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Stephens.
Joseph Azcona, 26, a five-year veteran, died in the hospital from his injuries after he was allegedly shot ‘before he even had the opportunity to leave his police car,’ Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens said at a press conference on Saturday
Five suspects, including a 14-year-old, are in police custody and authorities managed to secure one of the guns used in the shooting
The teen has been charged with murder, attempted murder, and possession of an illegal weapon. He is currently in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries
The shooting began around 6:30pm near a White Castle and a McDonald’s.
The officers were in the area after getting a report there may be illegal guns there. In a chaotic scene, twenty-nine shots were fired at officers, sources told PIX 11.
Police recovered the automatic weapon the teenager used to fire at police, authorities said.
Authorities now want to figure out how the 14-year-old obtained the firearm and his motivation to use it against police.
Before the deadly event, the accused teenager was hanging out with a large group at the fast-food outlets.
‘We need to focus laser sharp on trying to find the reason why this 14-year-old was in the situation that he was — had a gun, felt he could use it against police,’ Stephens said at a press conference on Saturday.
‘That’s a crazy situation. That’s one that cannot go unchecked.’
In the immediate aftermath, resident of Newark had scrambled to get safely away from the scene.
The shooting began about 6:30 pm on Friday around the intersection of Carteret Street and Broadway
‘There was 10 shots, I want to say. I want to say the whole clip basically,’ local Andrea Perez told ABC 7.
‘I just hear the gunshots and I thought it was fireworks, because people are always doing their fireworks, and then I saw a bunch of police come.’
This was not the only violent encounter targeting law enforcement.
Four police officers were shot across the US on Friday, with the one in Newark the only fatality.
