NEWARK — Mayor Ras Baraka, in response to a 10-year-old boy being shot by another boy inside his grandfather's home, is calling for stricter gun control.

"How many more tragedies must we endure, before Congress gets the courage to enact strong national gun controls?" Baraka asked in a statement identifying the victim as Josiah Coleman.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office said the incident early Saturday morning was a "tragic accidental discharge by another juvenile within the home" and said there was no evidence the shots were fired from outside the home. Baraka said the shooter was an 11-year-old boy.

The first-term mayor, while crediting Newark Police for taking 500 guns off the streets, said guns are still getting into Newark despite New Jersey's strong gun laws.

"We need strong national gun control. There are too many guns in too many hands in Newark and across America," Baraka said in his statement.

New Jersey has some of the strictest gun control measures in the nation, though Gov. Chris Christie earlier this month put into effect a rules change that would make it easier to obtained concealed-carry permits in the Garden State.

Baraka has frequently before called for stricter gun control, including after other deaths in his city — such as in the case of a family in which all three sons died from gunshots over five years.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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