Six people, including a police officer, were killed in a gun battle on Tuesday in Jersey City, authorities said. The dead included two suspects while the shooting took place in two locations. The bystanders shot videos of the incident which had the law enforcement asking them to clear the way and get out of the streets.
It is unclear what set off the shooting but the slain officer, detective Joseph Seals, was credited by his superiors for leading the department in the number of illegal guns being removed from the streets of Jersey. The authorities speculate that the officer might have been trying to stop such an incident in the cemetery when the shooting began and the officer was gunned down.
Five bodies were found in the supermarket
The shooting continued in a kosher supermarket a mile away from the cemetery. Five bodies were found in the supermarket by the officials. Authorities believe that the shooters targeted the market. Steven Fulop tweeted on Tuesday about the gunmen and that there was no indication whether there are any further threats. It was earlier said that shooting in the market was not a hate crime.
Fulop also said that it was a tough day for the city and that Seals was a good cop who tried to get most of the guns off the streets. Other than Seals, two other officers were wounded but were later released from the hospital.
The officers had a shootout with the gunmen at the kosher market
The shooting started early afternoon and Seals who was a part of the unit called Cease Fire was shot down at 12.30 pm. The gunmen then drove on a rental van to the kosher market where the officers and the suspects had a lengthy shootout.
Video shot by a witness shows a police officer getting wounded in the shootout. Kelly said that the police officers were under fire for hours. The kosher store is in the centre of the growing community of the Orthodox Jews who have been recently moving to New Jersey. The names of the victims were not released immediately because of pending notification to the respective families. The shooting has increased the fear in the neighbourhood with a school nearby going into lockdown.
