PATERSON,NJ — City police are investigating two separate homicides that happened overnight, including the death of a 17-year-old who was fatally shot late Tuesday night when two people began firing into a crowd at a 4th Ward basketball game on National Night Out, authorities. The second fatal shooting happened several hours later near a public housing complex on 5th Avenue in the 3rd Ward, according to authorities. The shootings mark the second time in four years in which Paterson suffered killings on National Night Out, an event designed to promote peace in America’s neighborhoods. Police have not released any information regarding possible motives in either shooting. Nor have they said whether there’s any sign the two shootings are connected. “It’s too early to tell,” said Police Director Glenn Brown. “That’s something we’ll definitely be looking into.” The first killing happened near the corner of Auburn and Godwin avenues at about 11:40 p.m. when two people fired into the crowd at a basketball game, police said. The 17-year-old victim was found on Auburn Street, police said. His name has not been released. Sources say police found a loaded machine gun about block away from the scene. Police say the second shooting happened on a walkway connecting E. 26th Street and Plesinger Place. Other details have not been released. Authorities are not sure when exactly the shooting happened. Brown said the victim was not found until 5:20 this morning. At the scene of the 3rd Ward shooting, police roped off a small vacant lot containing a green metal utility box leading to a wooded area in the residential neighborhood. The police tape stretched between the fences of a white Cape Cod on the 100 block of East 26th Street and a brown three-story house next door. Police also tied yellow tape across East 26th Street, half a block from the crime scene, affixing it to front yard fences. Two ambulances left the scene at 6:30 a.m., leaving a handful of officers at the scene. One resident said she was awake when she heard one gunshot at about 1:30 am today, but couldn’t see anything when she looked out of the window into the dark. The woman, who did not identify herself, said the neighborhood is generally quiet but not crime free, saying her uncle’s car was burglarized recently nearby.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 16:03:00 +0000
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