Tragic N.J. Killing: 2 Teens Shot, 1 Dies

Two New Jersey teens were shot Friday, and one was killed, police said.

The incident happened shortly before 3:00 p.m., when Newark police officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 400 block of Hawthorne Avenue in the city.

The arriving officers located two males, both of whom were suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. One victim, a 16-year-old from Newark, suffered until he was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:32 p.m., according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas S. Fennelly of the Prosecutor's Homicide Unit.

The second victim, a 17-year-old Newark resident, was rushed to an area hospital, where he was admitted in stable condition, according to Fennelly.

This incident is being investigated by the Essex County Prosecutor's Major Crimes Task Force, which includes detectives from the Newark Police Department. The investigation is active and ongoing at this time, according to Fennelly.

People were hugging each other at the scene, distraught as they learned the news.

"I knew the kid," a man told nj.com as he walked away. He claimed that he was a neighbor on Hawthorne Ave. of the person killed.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka arrived as the investigation unfolded, according to nj.com. Rev. Louise Scott-Rountree, a mayor's aide and manager of the Newark Office of Clergy Affairs, hugged a distraught woman.

We'll have more information as it comes in.

Patch file photo