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CNN
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A suspect in the shooting deaths of two police officers in Newark, New Jersey on Tuesday was still at large after an hours-long search of the building where he was last seen, officials said.
Prosecutors said an arrest warrant has been issued for Kendall Howard, 30, on two counts of attempted murder in connection with Tuesday’s shooting that injured two officers. Essex County Prosecutor Ted Stephens said the warrant charged Howard with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
On Tuesday morning, police and a SWAT team were going apartment-by-apartment searching for Howard, who they said retreated inside the building after the shooting, Newark Mayor Raz Baraka said at a news conference. The mayor said most residents were evacuated.
Howard was not located during the search, and officials believe he left the building sometime after the shooting, Newark Public Safety Director Fritz G. Frage said Tuesday.
The building has multiple entry and exit points, and investigators are reviewing surveillance footage in hopes of getting more information, Frage added.
Howard is also being investigated in connection with an Oct. 28 shooting in Newark, Baraka said. Officers first encountered the man Tuesday after a flight attendant recognized the man and called police about 1 p.m. to say he was in a nearby building.
Police responded 13 minutes later and did not find him in the building, but met him as he left near the parking lot, the mayor said.
“They gave him instructions, there was a short argument, the gentleman pulled out a gun and shot two police officers at close range. He returned fire and returned fire. The gentleman retreated into the building,” Baraka said.
Baraka said one of the officers was shot in the leg and had a small fracture. The other officer was shot in the shoulder and the bullet entered his neck. He said that the health condition of both is satisfactory.
He thanked the community Tuesday night for playing a “huge role,” especially the person who first called authorities with a tip about a suspicious location.
The FBI Newark has confirmed it will assist in the investigation of the shooting.
The shootings of officers come 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’s data.
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