Newark weapons sting goes wrong: Teen gunman kills elite NJ detective

NEWARK — An elite unit of city police detectives investigating illegal weapons came under gunfire in a North Ward neighborhood Friday evening, leaving a 26-year-old officer dead.

Detective Joseph Azcona never made it out of his vehicle before a gunshot mortally wounded him, officials said Saturday morning.

One of his colleagues remains hospitalized with injuries from the shooting, as does the 14-year-old suspect who has been charged with murder, attempted murder and weapons offenses. Both are expected to survive.

Neighborhood hears gunshots

The chaos erupted around 6:37 p.m. in the area of Broadway and Carteret Street near a White Castle, McDonald's and the Luis Munoz Elementary School.

Officials said police, working with federal support, were on a targeted operation related to firearms.

Witnesses told WCBS-TV they heard rapid gunfire after seeing officers run down the street.

During a Saturday morning news conference, bleary-eyed local and federal officials provided few details about the investigation but spoke of the bravery of Azcona and other officers.

"These are officers who got up yesterday morning to do their job, to go out and make sure our streets are safe. To make sure 8-year-olds are not killed by stray bullets. To make sure our grandmothers can sit on their porch in peace. To make sure our neighborhoods are not overrun with violence and guns," Mayor Ras Baraka said.

"They went to a scene that not many of us would have gone to … knowing that danger lived there," he said.

Investigation into shooting

Five people were taken into custody. Prosecutors have only announced charges for the teen, who they did not identify because he is a minor. Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II declined to publicly discuss details of the case on Saturday.

Police brass also requested that the identity of the recovering officer not be released until a later date.

Public Safety Director Manuel Miranda said the officers were part of an elite team that investigates the most serious crimes, from carjackings to homicides. Azcona had been a detective for the last two years of his five-year career on the force.

"These are the best of the best that we have to offer," Miranda said about the unit.

Miranda said Azcona's parents and brothers spent the night mourning at the hospital. Information about funeral services would follow.

"Nobody went home until everybody was captured," Miranda said about the law enforcement agencies on the case.

Stephens and Baraka expressed frustration at the violence and the age of the suspect.

Stephens challenged the community to focus less on broader political issues and more "on things that we can control," such as keeping youth in their homes and community out of the criminal lifestyle.

Baraka, the Democratic mayor of a city where 1 in 4 of its 300,000 residents are in poverty, said he, families and the community "have to do a better job at making sure our children are not handling guns in the street, shooting at police officers."

"This is not a police problem," Baraka said. "This is our problem. This is our collective problem."

Gov. Murphy reacts

Gov. Phil Murphy and first lady Tammy Murphy visited with the officer in the hospital privately, a spokesman said.

"I have been updated on an incident that took place in Newark earlier tonight involving two officers that were shot," Murphy said on X.

"This is a rapidly developing situation. Please pray for these officers, their families, and all our men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line to keep us safe."

Former Newark mayor and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and state Attorney General Matthew Platkin also shared support for the police officers.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom