An attempted murder suspect used a baby as a human shield during a standoff with police in Newark on Monday, authorities said.
The unidentified suspect was tracked to a house in the North Jersey city around 11 a.m., NJ.com reported. He was wanted in an attempted murder case in nearby Union County, but cops didn’t provide additional details.
When officers arrived at the home, they saw the man holding a gun and the baby, sources told WNBC. At one point, he placed the baby outside and opened fire on police, authorities said.
Prior to the end of the standoff, the suspect released the baby and a woman from the home, WABC reported.
“I don’t know what he was trying to do, or what it was about. I do know he had a child with him and police safely removed the child from his care,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said after the standoff. “We have the child, so the child is not in danger, thank God.”
After the suspect started shooting, several officers on the scene returned fire, according to WCBS. The standoff and shootout concluded around 3 p.m., and no officers or bystanders, including the woman and the baby, were injured in the incident.
“All of this started pulling up immediately, quick, fast,” neighbor Tommy Easterling told the station. “The next thing you hear is pow, pow, pow, pow, while they’re firing at the house.”
New Jersey State Police will investigate the incident.
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