There was a shooting this morning at Down South Kitchen in Newark, NJ. One person was killed, and two other were injured, including the restaurant owner’s 80-year-old mother. Click below to read more.
NEWARK – One person was killed and two others injured, including a woman in her 80s, when gunfire broke out inside of a restaurant in Newark’s West Ward this morning, city officials said.
Sometime after 10 a.m., a man entered the Down South Kitchen and approached two men eating breakfast, according to city officials. The man drew a gun and fired at the patrons, striking both. A stray bullet hit the restaurant owner’s 80-year-old mother in the shoulder, the officials said.
The officials asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak about the incident.
One of the men was killed, and the other was taken to the hospital in serious condition, the officials said.
The 80-year-old woman was taken to University Hospital, where she was recovering and expected to survive, according to the city officials.
Officers from the 4th Precinct immediately got a description of the vehicle used in the shooting and tracked it down, the officials said. Two suspects were arrested, though they have not yet been identified or charged as of this afternoon.
As of 1 p.m. a large crowd of 30 to 40 people remained outside the three-story building that houses the Down South Kitchen on 18th Avenue between South 13th and South 14th streets.
The owner, known to patrons as Ms. Gwen, declined to speak to The Star-Ledger but relayed information through neighbor Basheba Stevens. Stevens, 34, said the scene of the shooting was a mom-and-pop eatery specializing in soul food.
The establishment is run by Ms. Gwen, her mother and another woman, according to Stevens.
Stevens said the owners are sweet people, adding that Ms. Gwen “makes the best biscuits in town.” The eatery was only open for breakfast, usually starting around 7 a.m. and closing at noon.
At a school opening in the city, Mayor Cory Booker was addressing a crowd when he learned of the shooting.
“I have to leave now and get the phone with my police director, because just a matter of minutes ago, right before I walked in, what happened: More of our kids shot our kids,” Booker told the crowd, who let out a gasp at the news.
“Now the first cry I’d hear in the neighborhood is more police, more arrests, more prisons,” he said.
Booker said those same people should be asking for more schools and quality education.
