Essex County Boy, 10, Dies After Being Shot Inside Home: Prosecutor

NEWARK, NJ -- A 10-year-old child in New Jersey died after being fatally shot in his home on Saturday, authorities say.

Newark police officers arrived at a multi-family home on the 800 block of South 19th Street around 1:25 a.m. after receiving reports about a shooting, according to a joint statement from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and the Newark Public Safety Department.

The officers found a 10-year-old boy in a third-floor apartment at the residence suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, authorities said.

Emergency responders transported the child to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead at 1:48 a.m., prosecutors said.

"The shooting appears to be a tragic accidental discharge by another juvenile within the home," prosecutors stated Sunday. "At this point, there is no evidence that the shooting occurred outside the home into the apartment."

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The Essex County Prosecutor's Major Crimes Task Force, which includes detectives from the Newark Police Department, is investigating the incident.

No arrests in connection to this shooting have been made, prosecutors said.

Clarence Colman, the grandfather of the 10-year-old boy, identified the boy as Josiah Coleman, NJ.com reported.

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