Police: Lieutenant Shoots Robbery Suspect In Newark
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Newark police lieutenant shot a suspect in the chest Sunday morning following a car chase, authorities said.
The incident occurred early Sunday morning in the city's South Ward. A woman notified a police lieutenant patrolling in a marked SUV that she had been robbed at gunpoint, authorities said.
The 25-year veteran spotted the vehicle described by the woman at about 7 a.m., and a chase ensued, police said.
After the silver Lexus crashed into a house on South Sixth Street, five suspects fled, with one pointing his gun at the cop, police said.
"The officer told the guy to drop the weapon," police Director Eugene Venable said. "At that time, the guy pointed the weapon at the officer, and the officer unfortunately had to shoot him."
One witness told CBS2's Steve Langford he heard the officer tell the suspect to drop his weapon.
"I heard the cop say 'drop the gun,' and then bang!" Matt Suleymanof said.
The cop fired a single shot that struck the man in the chest, police said.
The unidentified suspect was taken to University Hospital and was reported to be in stable condition. The lieutenant was taken for observation. No other injuries were reported.
In all, three men are in custody. Two were still at large Sunday night.
They are being investigated for a possible connection to a string of robberies, police said.
Neighbors said they are fed up.
"It's very often that this happens -- the stolen cars, the shootings," one woman said.
"This is happening every day," a man added.
Meanwhile, Carolyn Dickerson was inspecting the damage to her home, from the crack in the bedroom wall to the basement that looks like a bomb went off, Langford reported.
And Dickerson said it's not the first time too.
"Absolutely we are used to that. They took out my steps over there before," she said.
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