Six People Shot in Newark

At least six people have been wounded in a midday shooting in a courtyard outside Kemsco Village apartment building at Stone and Crane streets in Newark.

Officials on the scene said six people between the ages of 17 and 27 were injured in the shooting and were taken to University Hospital. The conditions of those shot were unknown. Newark Det. Eugenio Gonzalez, a police spokesman, said there are no suspects.

Newark police, along with officers from the Essex County Sheriff's Office, were on the scene for several hours, which was cordoned off with police tape. A view of the grassy courtyard, which has three trees and a lamp post, also showed a puddle of blood, discarded medical supplies and bullet casings.

According to initial reports, it appeared the gunfire erupted around 1:15 p.m. It is unclear what prompted the shooting.

Residents in the area said they heard between 16 to 20 gunshots. A woman, who declined to give her name, but said she lives in the village, said she heard "a bunch of gunshots." "But by the time I looked out the window to the courtyard, there was three people lying on the floor with blood," she said in Spanish. "One seemed he had been shot to the head."

Glenn Davis, 50, said he was upstairs in his home when he heard shots behind his house. He said he saw a man jump into the bushes in the courtyard and heard more gunfire erupt. Davis said he worried the victims were students off of school for the Columbus Day holiday, "They got caught in the middle of this."

Jeremy Hernandez, 16, who works at Big John's Grocery on Crane Street, said he heard gunshots shortly after 1 p.m. and witnessed two African-American young men running west towards Cutler Street, "The men weren't injured and seemed to be running from the bullets." The teen said the gunfire sounded "like a machine gun."

Anibal Lopez, 59, said he lives in South Jersey but was visiting his sister's house, which is near the shooting. He said he heard more than 15 shots and saw a teenager run past his sister's house asking for help. The African-American teenager had apparently been shot in the left leg.

Lopez said he began driving the teenager to the hospital, but was stopped by the police who transferred the boy to an ambulance. Speaking in Spanish, he added, "We were nervous, because we were sitting outside. We saw this young man running and saying, 'Help me, help me.' "

One woman, who declined to give her name, said she heard what she thought were firecrackers as she awoke from a nap. She said, "Then I realized it was the O.K. Corral."

This is a breaking news story. Continue to check Patch for updates.