Police in Newark are investigating an armed robbery that occurred near the East Orange border on Saturday night.
In a disturbing trend of violent armed robberies, in the exact same location, police responded to reports of an armed robbery in progress near the intersection of 14th Street and Hedden Place around 10 p.m.
When police arrived at the scene, they found an unidentified male victim who reported that armed suspects exited a dark-colored vehicle and took his shoes, wallet, and watch at gunpoint.
The victim did not suffer serious injuries, but a couple of hours later, police believe the same suspects hid on the dark and desolate street and then targeted a man entering his car around 2 a.m.
According to reports, the suspects pistol-whipped, then shot the victim during the violent encounter. The injured was taken to University Hospital for treatment and authorities have not reported life-threatening injuries.
On early Friday morning, a law enforcement officer sitting in his vehicle near the intersection was approached by suspects fitting the description and attacked.
Reports say 3-4 suspects armed with weapons smashed the victim's car window and then robbed him of several items. The victim was not severely injured.
Business owners on the border said the street is about due for adequate lighting and some border patrol from both East Orange and Newark Police Departments.
"For years, this area has been a "forgotten about" section by law enforcement, and those who wanted to commit easy robberies, illegal dumping, and even multiple large scale drug transactions know that they could commit these crimes and get away," a business owner on Orange Street said.
"Being close to the east orange border, criminals use the border to transport drugs to some of East Orange communities," according to the business owner.
All of the incidents remain under investigation.