Cops Arrest 2 Women For ‘Retaliatory’ Shooting In Newark, NJ

NEWARK, NJ — Authorities arrested two women for allegedly conducting a “retaliatory” shooting earlier this week on Ferry Street in Newark, police said.

According to the Newark Department of Public Safety, officers from the Newark Police Department’s Fugitive Apprehension Team located and arrested two Jersey City residents, Jessica Velasquez, 37, and Tatyana Rodriguez, 27, in their hometown on Wednesday.

Police said that the incident took place around 7 p.m. on Aug. 1. The victims – both Newark residents – told officers that the shots were fired from a vehicle with several suspects inside, which fled after the shooting.

“After an intense investigation, members of the Cease Fire Shooting Response Team developed evidence that both Velasquez and Rodriguez were occupants in the vehicle that fled the shooting,” police stated in a news release.

The shooting is suspected as being a retaliatory act for an incident earlier in the day in which two other Jersey City residents, Jennifer Castillo, 21, and Porfirio Rivera, 30, were arrested and charged for burglary, aggravated assault and possession of a knife, authorities stated.