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CNN
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A suspect in a shooting in Newark, New Jersey, that injured two police officers, is in police custody, two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the investigation said Wednesday.
Kendall Howard, 30, is accused of shooting two Newark police officers who tried to question him near an apartment building in the city Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
The shooting prompted police to search the building for hours before determining that Howard was not there that night.
Details about Howard’s detention were not immediately available. A news conference will be held Wednesday afternoon, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said.
An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday for Howard on two counts of attempted murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose., County Prosecutor Ted Stephens said.
One of the officers was shot in the leg and suffered a minor fracture, Newark Mayor Raz Baraka said Tuesday. The other officer was shot in the shoulder and the bullet entered his neck, Baraka said. He said that the health condition of both is satisfactory.
Baraka said Howard was wanted in connection with the Oct. 28 shooting in Newark. Officers initially approached him after someone recognized him from a fellow passenger and called police saying he was in a nearby building.
Police confronted him near the parking lot, the mayor said.
“They gave him instructions; There was a little fight; The gentleman pulled out a gun and shot two police officers at close range. Fire was returned – fire was returned. “The gentleman retreated into the building,” Baraka said.
The shooting comes amid an increase in violence against law enforcement in the US.
According to the Fraternal Order of Police, an organization representing US law enforcement officers, 252 officers were shot and killed, including 50 fatally, from the start of this year to September 30.
That’s a 5% increase over the same period in 2021 and a 6% increase over the same period in 2020, according to the organization.
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