Acting Prosecutor Carolyn Murray is reporting at about 9 a.m. this morning a police involved shooting occurred on Oakwood Avenue north of Central Avenue where two Orange Police Officers fired their service weapons at a male allegedly armed with a knife who had lunged at one of the officers .
Prior to the shooting. East Orange Police Department (EOPD) were alerted by citizens that a male was brandishing a knife on Central Avenue approximately a quarter of a mile from the shooting scene and the Orange boarder.
Officers from the East Orange Police Department attempted to subdue the subject with the knife. Officers walked and drove their patrol cars trying to contain the subject as he walked west on Central Avenue.
As the East Orange officers approached Central and Oakwood Avenues a group of Orange Police Officers were by a nearby park preparing for an event when they joined in and tried to contain the subject who was brandishing the knife.
An Orange officer at this point used his pepper spray in efforts to contain the subject. The subject then lunged at a Orange police officer with the knife making contact with the officer’s shoulder area. The officer fired her service weapon along with her supervisor (a sergeant) striking the subject.
The subject was transported to University Hospital and is listed in critical condition. The officers fired a total of 6 shots. It has not been established how many times the subject was struck.
The officers were were treated at an area hospital and has since been released.
The subject appears to be in his late 50’s and lives in the area according to area residents. The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone that may of witnessed the incident please contact our ECPO hotline.
The subject or the officers has not been identified for safety reasons.
Related Post: https://rlsmedia.com/article/police-involved-shooting-injures-one-orange