Gunfire emitted Sunday evening in the city's South Ward close 19th Avenue and South 16th Street amid the Blessing of the Bikes, an occasion supported by the Newark Knights cruiser club to stamp the start of the riding season. Police taped off the whole region late Sunday night.
The Essex County Prosecutor's Office told NJ.com that murder investigators are on the scene and the three shooting exploited people have been taken to range doctor's facilities for treatment.
A huge number of individuals accompanied their cruisers on Mother's Day, and police began to get calls of different shots close to the convergence. A witness said there were individuals doing traps on their bicycles, and she saw two individuals haul out firearms and begin shooting.
A lady who assisted with CPR says the exploited person is an adolescent, however police have not affirmed that yet.
"I walked up to the scene, and there was a guy that was laying on the ground. Basically you heard shots that rang out, and it was 8 to 12 shots...the guy he ran. He fell on the ground - he got shot twice in the top of his head and once in the left eye," says Kenoa Campbell.
The Newark Chief of Detectives was on the scene Sunday night, and tells Eyewitness News that the victims range in age from 15-29 years old. He will not say which victim is the one who passed away, because their families have not all been notified.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka came down hard on the Blessing of the Bikes, saying had he known the event was approved by the city, he would have vetoed it, saying Newark does not have enough officers to maintain an event of this magnitude.
"They've had this event in the past, and it has not had an incident, but it's been unruly since then," Mayor Baraka said, "we know that we are building up more police officers. We hired another 150 this year."
