Newark Police Shoot Man In Stolen Car After Struggle: NJAG (UPDATED)

NEWARK, NJ — A police-involved shooting took place in Newark on Monday night, with one person in critical condition and two officers receiving minor injuries, authorities say.

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office said an investigation is taking place into an “officer-involved shooting” that took place near Hawthorne Avenue and Clinton Place.

The attorney general's office released an update about the shooting on Monday afternoon:

"According to the preliminary information, at approximately 8:34 p.m., two uniformed officers from the Newark Police Department in a marked patrol vehicle noticed a reportedly stolen SUV parked in the area of Clinton Place near the intersection of Hawthorne Avenue in Newark. Upon investigating, they observed an adult male seated in the parked vehicle’s front passenger seat. The officers approached the vehicle and, as they were detaining the passenger, a second male exited a nearby store, entered the vehicle, and got behind the wheel."

Here's what happened next, authorities said:

"Officers then attempted to detain the male who had gotten into the driver’s seat. A struggle ensued, and the vehicle accelerated, initially backward and then forward. One police officer fired his duty weapon, striking the driver. The vehicle struck the officers’ patrol car, which was positioned at an angle in front of the reportedly stolen vehicle. The vehicle then traveled forward across the street, onto a sidewalk, and crashed into a building and then into unoccupied vehicles parked along the street."

The officers provided medical aid to the driver, who was later transported to University Hospital in Newark, where he is in critical but stable condition, the attorney general's office said.

Two police officers were also transported to University Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and released, authorities added.

Surveillance video shared by ABC7 News shows an interaction between police and two men at the scene.

The attorney general's office didn't release the identity of the driver in their statement. No additional information was immediately available.

Mayor Ras Baraka issued a statement in the wake of the shooting, calling it an "all-around tragedy."

Baraka said the incident involved a vehicle stolen from Connecticut. The two adults male suspects are residents of Queens, NY; one remains hospitalized and the other is in police custody.

The mayor continued:

"While a thorough investigation is underway by the attorney general’s office, I can share that after one suspect was arrested and being led away, another suspect jumped into the car and attempted to escape. Police officers tried to stop him. A struggle ensued and shots were fired. During the incident, the vehicle smashed into a police cruiser and then Hawthorne Elementary School."

"This is a tragedy all around," Baraka said. "When an incident such as this happens, it is traumatic for all involved, and its effect ripples out through the community."

"Our focus will be on providing comfort, relief, and recovery to all those affected and to deter the kind of unlawful actions that lead to these kinds of incidents," he added.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.