A Little Gang Action in "Joisey".
New York Times
Shooting in Downtown Newark Leaves One Dead and Four Hurt -December 26, 2004
By DAMIEN CAVE
One man died and four people were injured yesterday in an early morning shooting at a Newark housing project near downtown, the police said.
The violence started about 3:30 a.m. Lloyd Westry, 24, of Newark was standing with several friends in a concrete courtyard within the Baxter Terrace housing complex at 226 Orange Street when several gunshots sounded, according to Carolyn Wright, director of the homicide division for the Essex County prosecutor's office. She said that one or more people had approached on foot and opened fire.
Mr. Westry died at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Two of the four other people who were injured by gunfire were in critical condition at the same hospital last night; the others had been released by the evening. All are from Newark, but Ms. Wright would not give their names because she said they needed to be protected from potential retaliation.
She said that the police were still investigating whether the killing was gang-related. Less than two weeks ago, another Baxter Terrace resident - Sutton Davis, 22 - was shot to death on South 15th Street. Yesterday's killing was the ninth recorded in Newark since Thanksgiving, and the 86th this year. There were 83 homicides in 2003, and 68 in 2002. Newark's population is 270,000.
Residents of the complex, a set of three-story brick structures where the ground is littered with crack vials and garbage, said yesterday that the killing was connected to an argument that took place that night at a nearby bar, Layers.
Bernard McDaniels, 49, Mr. Westry's uncle, said that his nephew was single, and was studying carpentry at a local trade school.
"I saw him last night," he said. "I was kidding with him: I was looking for a Christmas present for him, he was looking for a Christmas present for me."
By early afternoon, a shrine to Mr. Westry had been set up in the courtyard. Three candles and a bottle of Cognac sat on the ground where blood could still be seen. On a nearby wall, there was a message in black magic marker that included the line, "R.I.P., I love you brother Lloyd."
Ms. Wright said that no arrests had been made.
Before Mr.Westry's death, 45 of this year's killings were unsolved, and with his death, the homicide rate in Newark - the number of killings per 100,000 people each year - is 31.9, more than twice the rate in the country's 10 largest cities and nearly five times the homicide rate of New York City, according to federal crime statistics.
Three days ago, Mayor Sharpe James convened an antiviolence summit meeting and announced plans to add 80 officers and open seven new neighborhood precincts in 2005. Since Nov.
26, when four people were found fatally shot in a lot near a church on the city's south side, he has downplayed the violence, declaring that crime is down over the past decade.
Ms. Wright said that the violence seemed to fit with what has become a violent pattern. "One would always hope that one would spend the holiday with family and loved ones and not be involved in violence, but we live in a very violent society," she said. "It doesn't seem to change with the season or holiday."
Janon Fisher contributed reporting for this article. From the NEW YORK TIMES
Shooting in Downtown Newark Leaves One Dead and Four Hurt -December 26, 2004
By DAMIEN CAVE
One man died and four people were injured yesterday in an early morning shooting at a Newark housing project near downtown, the police said.
The violence started about 3:30 a.m. Lloyd Westry, 24, of Newark was standing with several friends in a concrete courtyard within the Baxter Terrace housing complex at 226 Orange Street when several gunshots sounded, according to Carolyn Wright, director of the homicide division for the Essex County prosecutor's office. She said that one or more people had approached on foot and opened fire.
Mr. Westry died at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Two of the four other people who were injured by gunfire were in critical condition at the same hospital last night; the others had been released by the evening. All are from Newark, but Ms. Wright would not give their names because she said they needed to be protected from potential retaliation.
She said that the police were still investigating whether the killing was gang-related. Less than two weeks ago, another Baxter Terrace resident - Sutton Davis, 22 - was shot to death on South 15th Street. Yesterday's killing was the ninth recorded in Newark since Thanksgiving, and the 86th this year. There were 83 homicides in 2003, and 68 in 2002. Newark's population is 270,000.
Residents of the complex, a set of three-story brick structures where the ground is littered with crack vials and garbage, said yesterday that the killing was connected to an argument that took place that night at a nearby bar, Layers.
Bernard McDaniels, 49, Mr. Westry's uncle, said that his nephew was single, and was studying carpentry at a local trade school.
"I saw him last night," he said. "I was kidding with him: I was looking for a Christmas present for him, he was looking for a Christmas present for me."
By early afternoon, a shrine to Mr. Westry had been set up in the courtyard. Three candles and a bottle of Cognac sat on the ground where blood could still be seen. On a nearby wall, there was a message in black magic marker that included the line, "R.I.P., I love you brother Lloyd."
Ms. Wright said that no arrests had been made.
Before Mr.Westry's death, 45 of this year's killings were unsolved, and with his death, the homicide rate in Newark - the number of killings per 100,000 people each year - is 31.9, more than twice the rate in the country's 10 largest cities and nearly five times the homicide rate of New York City, according to federal crime statistics.
Three days ago, Mayor Sharpe James convened an antiviolence summit meeting and announced plans to add 80 officers and open seven new neighborhood precincts in 2005. Since Nov.
26, when four people were found fatally shot in a lot near a church on the city's south side, he has downplayed the violence, declaring that crime is down over the past decade.
Ms. Wright said that the violence seemed to fit with what has become a violent pattern. "One would always hope that one would spend the holiday with family and loved ones and not be involved in violence, but we live in a very violent society," she said. "It doesn't seem to change with the season or holiday."
Janon Fisher contributed reporting for this article. From the NEW YORK TIMES
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