Shooting Victim Found Dead At Branch Brook Park: Police

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ -- Police found the victim of a fatal shooting at Essex County Branch Brook Park on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Officers from the Essex County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene of the homicide around noon after receiving a report about an unresponsive male in a gazebo in the park, according to a joint statement from Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens and Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura.

On arrival, the officers found a man with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead on the scene at 12:38 p.m., authorities said.

Police are withholding the identity of the victim pending notification of next of kin.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force and the Essex County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the shooting. The Essex County Crime Stoppers Program is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the identification of a suspect. Anyone with information can call the prosecutor's Tips Line at (877) 847-7432.

Essex County Branch Brook Park is located in Newark and Belleville.

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