A city police officer shot an armed suspect after interrupting an attempted robbery at a downtown gas station early Thursday morning, authorities say
NEWARK -- A city police officer shot and wounded an armed suspect after interrupting an attempted robbery at a downtown gas station early Thursday morning, authorities said.
Following the shooting, the suspect was transported to University Hospital for treatment, said Thomas Fennelly, Chief Assistant Prosecutor at the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. A second suspect was taken into police custody, he added.
An investigation into the shooting by the prosecutor's office is ongoing, Fennelly said.
Official details of the shooting were not immediately made available. But a source close to the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that shortly after midnight the officer stopped into the Sunoco gas station at the intersection of Washington and Court Street to purchase a beverage.
Upon arriving, he found the attached convenience store being robbed by two suspects, one of them armed with a handgun, the source said. The officer fired one shot, striking the suspect holding the gun, the source said.
The second suspect was held at gunpoint until additional officers arrived at the scene, the source said.
A second source familiar with the investigation, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the injured suspect was transported to University Hospital in Newark, where he is currently in serious but stable condition.
The officer was uninjured during the incident, the source said. His name, along with the names of the two suspects, have yet to be released.
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