Watch N.J. Police Come to Aid of Wounded Officers in Shooting

By Richard Cowen, Noah Cohen and Jeff Goldman

Source nj.com

The man accused of shooting two Newark police officers at an apartment building Tuesday was arrested at the same building Wednesday, while authorities hours later could not explain how he evaded an overnight search that led to a neighborhood being locked down.

Kendall Howard, of East Orange, was taken into custody shortly after 11 a.m. Wednesday at the building that was surrounded by law enforcement officers for hours a day before, according to authorities. Police initially said they were searching for Howard for his alleged role in a previous shooting in the city’s South Ward and went to question him after a tip led them to the Van Velsor Place building around 1 p.m. Tuesday.

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Two uniformed city officers arrived at the building and spotted Howard before he shot them at close range, officials said.

“They stopped him to talk to him and to identify him, and a violent interaction occurred,” acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens told reporters at the scene late Tuesday.

Howard, 30, now faces charges of attempted murder of the officers and two weapons offenses, prosecutors said.

One officer was grazed on the neck and the bullet lodged in his shoulder. The other was shot in the leg, authorities said. Wednesday afternoon, crowds gathered at University Hospital to cheer on one of the officers as he was released. He didn’t speak as he was wheeled out in a wheelchair, and authorities have declined to identify the officers by name.

But Newark Mayor Ras Baraka spoke, to both the crowd and the officer.

“We owe you so much brother,” he told the man. “We appreciate the work that you did. You’re a hero today. You risked your life for so many of us.”

To the crowd, the mayor added, “I’m so grateful not only because he walked out of here, but because I also know him and know his family and I’m grateful for the work and commitment they have to this community.”

In a tweet Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Phil Murphy said he visited both officers in the hospital, and that they were expected to make a full recovery.

“Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers,” he said.

At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, authorities released few new details and were unable to explain Howard’s whereabouts during the search. It was unclear where he was hiding as scores of local, state and federal law enforcement officials in tactical gear searched for the accused shooter. Newark officials and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office have not explained how police located Howard or detailed what led to his capture.

“We are in the midst of a long and arduous investigation, and we’re not fully able to determine what happened,” Stephens said. Law enforcement’s response Tuesday, he said “...involved not only a search, but there were residents who had to be evacuated, and that takes a number of hours in and of itself.”

Most of the press conference was dedicated to congratulating the various law enforcement agencies on a job well done.

Baraka said a passing motorist, who officials would not name, jumped from her car and rushed to help a wounded officer.

“This goes against all the narratives,” that people don’t want to get involved to help the police, the mayor said.

Baraka said when he visited the officers at University Hospital last night and returned home knowing there was a shooter on the loose.

“I was extremely concerned about what residents felt as they went to sleep about a person who may be at large in their community who just tried to shoot and kill two police officers,” he said.

Still, Baraka would not offer any information as to where the alleged shooter had spent the night, whether in the apartment building where the incident took place or somewhere else.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, who joined officials at the press conference, said that gun violence is “epidemic in America,” and in the state and that law enforcement was joined with the public to stem the violence. Of the two wounded officers he said, “two police officers went to do their jobs and they were shot.”

Newark Fraternal Order of Police President Jeff Weber said the officers families stayed by their sides throughout.

“They’re grateful they’re still here.”

Streets in the residential neighborhood were blocked off for hours Tuesday as authorities ordered residents the building where the shooting took place. Officials also placed schools in the area on lock down, but were dismissed on time.

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