Teenage Girl Gunned Down in Newark

A 17-year-old Irvington girl who had a young daughter was killed Wednesday night in Newark, while sitting on the porch of her boyfriend's home, according to authorities and friends.

Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, said Kamara Ingram was gunned down around 9:45 p.m. in the 200 block of South 10th Street. Ingram then was transported to University Hospital in Newark, where she died around 10 p.m.

The spokeswoman said the teenager does not appear to be the intended target, but declined to elaborate.

On Thursday afternoon, a lone Newark police car sat outside the crime scene, a three-story dwelling in the city's West Ward. The home's porch was clean, but the gated yard was strewn with at least two dozen Bud Ice beer cans. A shivering pitbull also was in the yard. A man who said he lives at the house declined comment. Neighbors, though, said they heard about five shots.

Pamela Ford, 29, who lives two houses down, said she was "close friends" with Ingram. "She was a nice girl and didn't deserve this," said Ford. "It's sad and terrible. She didn't bother anyone."

Ford said Ingram recently had a baby girl in the last three months, "She's a sweetheart."

Ingram's murder ended a nearly 20-day, homicide-free period in the city. The last killing was Oct. 6.

Carter said police have not identified a motive or a suspect in Ingram's death.

In an emailed statement, Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio vowed a quick arrest, "We will use every means at our disposal to find those responsible and swiftly prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law."