Essex County authorities say an off-duty corrections officer shot and critically wounded two of three men who allegedly tried to rob him.

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Acting County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray says the corrections officer was leaving his vehicle in Newark when the three men approached him around 2:30 a.m. Monday.

The men soon exchanged gunfire. Two of the suspects were shot, while the third fled the scene and remained at large Monday night.

The corrections officer was treated at a hospital for trauma and was later released.

The two wounded suspects remained hospitalized Monday night. Nineteen-year-old Kyle Cross of Newark was in critical but stable condition, while a 16-year-old male from Newark was in stable condition.

Both suspects will be charged with robbery and weapons offenses.

 

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