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Jersey City Shooting Live Updates: 6 People Killed, Including Officer Jersey City Shooting Live Updates: 6 People Killed, Including Officer
(32 minutes later)
At least six people, including at least one police officer, were killed in Jersey City, N.J., on Tuesday after two people opened fire around a convenience store, officials said, touching off a firefight involving dozens of law enforcement officers that made the residential area take on the feel of a war zone. At least six people, including at least one police officer, were killed in Jersey City, N.J., on Tuesday after two people opened fire at a kosher market, officials said, touching off a firefight involving dozens of law enforcement officers that made the residential area take on the feel of a war zone.
Officials said the dead included three people in the store as well as two suspected shooters. The slain police officer was not immediately identified. Officials said the dead included three people in the market as well as two suspected shooters. The slain police officer was not immediately identified.
There was “no indication of terrorism,” an official said at a news conference.
Preliminary reports indicated that the episode began when an officer approached one of the gunmen in connection with an investigation of an earlier homicide and was shot dead, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The gunmen then fled in a truck and eventually ended up at the kosher supermarket. But investigators believe that the store was chosen randomly and that the incident was not a hate crime.
For more than an hour, loud exchanges of gunfire rang out in the Greenville neighborhood of Jersey City, which is just across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan. Helicopters circled overhead as police officers swarmed the streets.For more than an hour, loud exchanges of gunfire rang out in the Greenville neighborhood of Jersey City, which is just across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan. Helicopters circled overhead as police officers swarmed the streets.
They aimed handguns and long guns in every direction as they traveled down the street in formations, knocking on doors and ushering residents and business owners to safety.They aimed handguns and long guns in every direction as they traveled down the street in formations, knocking on doors and ushering residents and business owners to safety.
The shooting started around 12:30 p.m., according to officials.The shooting started around 12:30 p.m., according to officials.
Jersey City’s mayor, Steven Fulop, said there were two separate incidents involved in the shootout. The first was at Bay View Cemetery, and the second took place at a corner store near the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Bayview Avenue. Jersey City’s mayor, Steven Fulop, said there were two separate incidents involved in the shootout. The first was at Bay View Cemetery, and the second took place at the kosher market near the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Bayview Avenue.
Shots continued to be fired until just before 2 p.m., witnesses said.
The Hudson County prosecutor’s office said earlier that one police officer was killed and that two other officers and that a bystander had been wounded but were in stable condition.
Gov. Philip D. Murphy said in a statement: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the men and women of the Jersey City Police Department, especially with the officers shot during this standoff, and with the residents and schoolchildren currently under lockdown.”Gov. Philip D. Murphy said in a statement: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the men and women of the Jersey City Police Department, especially with the officers shot during this standoff, and with the residents and schoolchildren currently under lockdown.”
Police vehicles from Hudson County, Bergen County, West New York and Jersey City lined the block from Grant Avenue to Myrtle Avenue. Sacred Heart School, a Catholic elementary school across the street from the scene of the shooting, was placed on lockdown during the attack, a spokeswoman said. The students there had not been harmed.
Sacred Heart School, a Catholic elementary school across from the scene of the shooting, was placed on lockdown, a spokeswoman said. The students there had not been harmed. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the scene, including the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Multiple law enforcement agencies were responding to the scene, including the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Greenville neighborhood of Jersey City is home to a small but growing community of about 50 families of ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jews.
A spokesman for the A.T.F. said the agency was treating the incident as an “active shooter” situation as of 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Chezky Deutsch, a Hasidic Jew who spoke with a shooting victim by phone, said the man was in his 20s and suffered three gunshot wounds.
New Jersey Transit said it was suspending bus service and Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service as officers continued to respond. Mr. Deutsch said the victim was able to speak, but did not have a clear memory of what happened.
The victim lives in Brooklyn and had been shopping at the store when the gunfight broke out.
Next door to the supermarket is a small synagogue and yeshiva, Mr. Deutsch said.
Children inside the building were on lock down while the firefight and investigation occurred.
Residents cleared from their homes and stores watched anxiously from behind a barricade as SWAT teams, bomb squads and heavily armed officers overtook their neighborhoods.
As they stood at street corners, waiting for word that it would be safe to return, they described a tense standoff punctuated with exchanges of gunfire that did not stop until just before 2 p.m.
“I heard this constant shooting, and it kept going on for about 15 minutes,” said Willy McDonald, 67. By the time he came outside, there were cops everywhere. “There had to be at least 8 of them.”
“This is one of the biggest gunfights I’ve seen in a while,” said Mr. McDonald. “And I’ve been in Vietnam.”
One frustrated resident, Corey McCloed, 39, said it was like the city was under siege.
Twelve public schools in the vicinity of the shooting were shut down and on lockdown, according to the superintendent of Jersey City Public Schools, Frank Walker.Twelve public schools in the vicinity of the shooting were shut down and on lockdown, according to the superintendent of Jersey City Public Schools, Frank Walker.
Mr. Walker said he was told that gunfire broke out around 12:30 p.m. He and his staff were communicating with police officers, who were still responding to the shooting, he said.Mr. Walker said he was told that gunfire broke out around 12:30 p.m. He and his staff were communicating with police officers, who were still responding to the shooting, he said.
Schools in neighboring Bayonne, N.J., were ordered to shelter in place as a result of the police activity.Schools in neighboring Bayonne, N.J., were ordered to shelter in place as a result of the police activity.
Sharon Otterman and Ed Shanahan contributed reporting. New Jersey Transit said it was suspending bus service and Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service as officers continued to respond.
Kwame Opam, Sharon Otterman and Ed Shanahan contributed reporting.