Yooo …. they still shooting as it's being broadcast from the scene… I recognize that area of MLK Blvd
What to Know
- Hudson County law enforcement sources confirm an active shooter situation in Jersey City
- The circumstances are developing; preliminary reports are that one officer has been shot in the head and is critically wounded, a senior official says
- All public schools in Jersey City have been locked down
One police officer has been shot in the head amid an ongoing active shooter situation at a bodega in Jersey City Tuesday -- and every single public school in the city has been locked down as multiple SWAT teams respond, according to a senior law enforcement official and local authorities.
The situation is fluid and information is developing rapidly; one law enforcement source described the attack as an "ambush," and said at least one man was holed up in a bodega with a long gun for hours, sources say. That man and another suspect are believed to have been injured in the hours-long shootout, a senior official briefed on the matter says. One suspect is believed to still be in the bodega while another may have tried to flee the store and escape to a nearby school.
Four other people were thought to be inside the bodega, the senior official said, stressing the highly preliminary nature of the evolving investigation. It wasn't clear if any of those four were hurt or considered victims or suspects.
Heavily armed local and state officers in SWAT trucks swarmed the scene, ducking behind doorways and store entrances -- some even crawling along sidewalks, closely pressed to the ground -- as they zeroed in on the bodega where the suspect was believed to be barricaded. Gunshots -- dozens of them, it appeared -- continued to pop off throughout the afternoon, based on audio from the scene. The streets in the immediate area were totally empty of what would normally be heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
Senior law enforcement officials tell News 4 it appears the suspect or suspects arrived at the scene in a truck. They want to check that truck as a precaution to ensure the vehicle itself is not a threat.
Federal ATF and FBI agents in Newark also confirmed they were responding to the scene to assist as needed. About a dozen schools in the vicinity were locked down initially. By 2 p.m., the lockdown order extended to every public school in the entire city, the district's superintendent said.
Superintendent of Jersey City Schools Frank Walker tells News 4 he was informed there was gunfire near one of the schools in his PS 29 district shortly after 12:30 p.m. He says gunfire was apparently heard on the streets and all of the schools in the immediate vicinity -- about 12 -- were shut down. Members of the Board of Education also called to report shots fired, Walker said. All students are safe, he added, and parents were being informed of the developing situation. Mass transit was also affected.
Andy Patel works at a liquor store about three blocks away from the site of the shooting site and said there had been consistent gunfire fire for about an hour. There was a brief pause -- and cops used the time to clear streets.
It's like firecrackers going off. They were shooting like crazy about an hour ago. Then it stopped for like 20 or 30 minutes.
andy patel, witness
President Trump has been briefed on the situation, as has New Jersey Gov. Murphy.
A police officer and three civilians were killed during a shootout in Jersey City which also left the two suspects dead, law enforcement officials said. According to senior law enforcement officials, the Tuesday afternoon shootout began when a detective saw a U-Haul truck possibly linked to the...
www.nbcnewyork.com
.
Fox News"They have turned the streets into a warzone."