Newark police shot a man who jumped into a stolen car and attempted to drive away in a chaotic scene Monday night.
Authorities spotted the stolen vehicle parked near an intersection in southwest Newark around 8:30 p.m., the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said in a statement. A man sitting in the car’s passenger seat was arrested without incident.
But moments later, another man walked past the car and jumped into the driver’s seat, according to surveillance video obtained by WABC. A cop appeared to hop in the passenger’s seat and attempt to stop the man.
However, the man still quickly put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking spot, according to the video. An officer is then seen on camera opening fire on the vehicle.
The attorney general’s office said a struggle ensued inside the car and it struck the officers’ patrol car, which was positioned to block the stolen vehicle. An officer outside the car opened fire, striking the man who jumped into the driver’s seat, authorities said.
The man was transported to University Hospital in critical but stable condition, according to the attorney general’s office. Both officers were treated for minor injuries at the same hospital and released.
“One young man was taken out of the vehicle,” community advocate Donna Jackson told WABC. “Another young man jumped into the driver’s seat, pursued forward, hitting an officer, hitting the police car, where the officer opened fire.”
WABC initially reported that the driver of the stolen vehicle was killed in the incident, but the attorney general’s office said he was only wounded. The attorney general investigates all police shootings in the state.
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