Detectives in Newark are trying to determine if shootings near two Newark Public High schools on Tuesday are connected.
There were no injuries reported in either shooting, but in the later incident, fans attending the Central High School vs. West Side High School Basketball game were ordered to shelter into place after a gunman outside of the building began to blast off multiple rounds near the 17th Avenue and Boyd Street side of Central High School.
Witnesses inside the well attended basketball game told our Metro evening field crew that game was still going on when all of a sudden about 50 game attendees began running towards the door. "People on the other side of the gym had no clue as to what was happening, and the game announcer demanded fans back to their seats and not to leave the gym" according to the witness.
"People on the other side of the gym had no clue as to what was happening, but people began to say that there was a shooting outside the building."
School safety officers patrolling the game notified police officials at headquarters who sent a swarm of officers to the vicinity of the school and found evidence that a shooting occurred according to preliminary reports.
The 17th Avenue side of the building was penetrated by at least one bullet but officers canvassing the area did not find any victims.
After nearly an hour of investigating by authorities, all who attended the game were allowed to safely leave the gym according to police.
In a shooting that occurred earlier in the afternoon in Newark's South Ward, police were called to investigate reports of shots fired about a block away front the back end of the Shabazz High School -Elizabeth Avenue and West Alpine- where school administrators and security inside the building provided an additional layer of protection to staff and students just after the school day ended.
Newark South Ward police officers arrived at the scene and found multiple shell casings, but a search of the area did not indicate victims according to reports.
The investigation into both incidents remains active and ongoing.
There were no arrests reported.