Detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office are actively searching for suspects wanted for a violent shooting that took the life of a man steps from the entrance of a Newark elementary school late Saturday night.
According to a brief statement released by the prosecutor's office, at approximately 11:23 p.m., residents dialed 911 after hearing more than a dozen rounds of bullets that rang out at the intersection of 14th Avenue and South 9th Street.
When officers arrived at the scene, authorities said they found a vehicle with a male victim inside suffering multiple gunshot wounds near the 14th Avenue Elementary School.
Police say the victim, Mr. Kasson Brown, 20, of Newark, was inside the car unconscious and unresponsive.
The recent graduate of Marion P. Thomas Charter School was pronounced dead by medical professionals at 10:39 p.m. The Essex County Prosecutor's Office confirmed with RLS Media.
Residents at the Reservoir Housing Complex said that the sound of gunfire is typical in the West Ward community, but last night's shooting was particularly unfortunate as sad since the victim was a young man who was on the right path.
"Even with the active Newark Fire Department directly across the street, and the school at the corner, shootings happen around here at least twice a week; on a good week," a Reservoir Housing Complex resident said.
The family of Brown said he was planning to attend trade school and loved cars.
"We called Kasson 'Hellcat' because he loved cars and repairing them," a family member told RLS Media. "He graduated from the charter school in June and was prepping for trade school," Brown's family said.
The Prosecutor's Office would not confirm any details of the incident as the case is in an active investigation, but family members said Brown lived nearby and was on his way home shortly before the shooting.
According to reports, a red Dodge Charger was observed speeding away from the scene immediately after the shooting.
Officials said Brown’s incident is the second reported fatal shooting and first reported homicide in Newark to begin the year. The first fatal shooting occurred around midnight of 2021 where Newark Police killed an alleged gunman in the city's Central Ward.