Heartbreaking violence shattered a Newark neighborhood on Saturday evening, leaving a community in mourning and a city grappling with the senseless loss of innocent lives.
A mass shooting on the 300 block of Chancellor Avenue in Newark, New Jersey, claimed the lives of a 10-year-old boy and a 21-year-old woman, while wounding three others, around 7 p.m. on November 15, 2025.
The tragedy unfolded at the intersection of Leslie Street and Chancellor Avenue, a largely residential area in New Jersey’s largest city, where the sound of rapid gunfire pierced the night.
Residents described a chaotic scene, with one recalling, “It was a lot of screaming,” as panic set in after the shots rang out (statement from a nearby apartment resident).
Let’s not sugarcoat this—while progressive policies often push for defunding law enforcement under the guise of reform, incidents like this remind us that communities need protection, not platitudes.
Another witness noted, “It was a lot [of gunshots]. More than six,” painting a grim picture of the barrage that struck down innocents (as told to NJ.com).
Both the young boy and the 21-year-old woman, fatally wounded, were hurried to University Hospital, but tragically, neither could be saved.
Three others—an 11-year-old boy and two men, aged 19 and 60—sustained injuries but are reported to be in stable condition, a small mercy amid the devastation.
Newark police swiftly cordoned off the area, blocking residents of a nearby apartment building from returning home that night, a stark reminder of how crime disrupts every facet of life.
By Sunday morning, November 16, 2025, the scene bore the scars of the night before, with at least 17 evidence markers scattered across the ground, as reported by WABC.
Officers and plainclothes detectives combed the area in the early hours, flashlights illuminating potential clues, including what appeared to be a jacket on the ground, per NJ.com’s observations.
While some might argue this is just another statistic in a city of over 300,000, the human toll—especially the loss of a child—cuts deeper than any data point.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka didn’t mince words, calling it a “dark and devastating day” as he mourned not only this shooting but also the unrelated death of a 2-year-old who fell from a window earlier that day.
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has stepped up, offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, and urging tips through their line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.
While violent crime in Newark saw a 13% uptick in the year to May 2024, per the Newark Public Safety Collaborative at Rutgers University, recent figures show declines in homicides and assaults through late October 2025—yet, clearly, the fight is far from over, and soft-on-crime approaches aren’t the answer.
