NJ Mom Dies After July 4th Assault; Man Also Wounded 2 Kids: ECPO

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A New Jersey mother died from her wounds after a man assaulted her and two young children on the Independence Day holiday in East Orange, prosecutors recently announced.

Police responded to an apartment on the 100-block of Park Avenue around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday after getting a report about a disturbance. Officers found a 31-year-old woman with a life-threatening injury and two children at the scene – one with a life-threatening wound and the other with a non-life-threatening injury, authorities said.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the East Orange Police Department declined to elaborate on the victims and the nature of their injuries.

Previous news reports said the woman and the two toddlers were stabbed. The woman had reportedly lived in the building her whole life, and one of her children had just celebrated a birthday.

The victims were rushed to University Hospital in Newark after the assault. The woman was pronounced dead at the hospital on Friday afternoon. Her identity is being withheld pending notification of her next of kin, and to protect the children’s identities, authorities said.

Patch reached out to prosecutors seeking an update on the medical status of the children. We will update this article with any reply we receive.

MAN ARRESTED

Authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with the assault, who remains in custody at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark.

The charge against Jihad Hagler, 27, of Newark, has been upgraded to criminal homicide, prosecutors announced after the adult woman passed away last week. He was previously charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Newark police arrested Hagler on the evening of July 4 for an unrelated incident, authorities said. He was subsequently turned over to the East Orange Police Department and prosecutor’s detectives.

No additional information was immediately available.

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