What to Know
- Hudson County law enforcement sources confirm an active shooter situation in Jersey City
- The circumstances are developing; preliminary reports are that one officer has been shot in the head and is critically wounded, a senior official says
- All public schools in Jersey City have been locked down
One police officer has been shot in the head amid an ongoing active shooter situation at a bodega in Jersey City Tuesday -- and every single public school in the city has been locked down as multiple SWAT teams respond, according to a senior law enforcement official and local authorities.
The situation is fluid and information is developing rapidly; one law enforcement source described the attack as an "ambush," and said at least one man was holed up in a bodega with a long gun, sources say. Some sources said a woman was also inside the store, but her possible involvement in the ongoing shooting situation wasn't immediately clear.
Heavily armed local and state officers in SWAT trucks swarmed the scene, ducking behind doorways and store entrances -- some even crawling along sidewalks, closely pressed to the ground -- as they zeroed in on the bodega where the suspect was believed to be barricaded. Gunshots -- dozens of them, it appeared -- continued to pop off throughout the afternoon, based on audio from the scene. The streets in the immediate area were totally empty of what would normally be heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
Senior law enforcement officials tell News 4 it appears the suspect or suspects arrived at the scene in a truck. They want to check that truck as a precaution to ensure the vehicle itself is not a threat. Those officials also tell News 4 it's possible a suspect was injured in the shootout. Police are trying to assess the still evolving situation, including the suspect's condition and whether other people may have been involved.
Federal ATF and FBI agents in Newark also confirmed they were responding to the scene to assist as needed. About a dozen schools in the vicinity were locked down initially. By 2 p.m., the lockdown order extended to every public school in the entire city, the district's superintendent said.
We need a lot of prayers right now for Jersey City officers. Keep all those involved in your thoughts.
— New Jersey State PBA (@NJSPBA) December 10, 2019
Superintendent of Jersey City Schools Frank Walker tells News 4 he was informed there was gunfire near one of the schools in his PS 29 district shortly after 12:30 p.m. He says gunfire was apparently heard on the streets and all of the schools in the immediate vicinity -- about 12 -- were shut down.
Members of the Board of Education also called to report shots fired, Walker said. All students are safe, he added, and parents are being informed of the developing situation. Some mass transit in the area was also affected.
