‘Multiple People’ Dead in Shooting at Kosher Store in Jersey City

AP

Six people, including a police officer and three bystanders, were killed in a furious gunbattle Tuesday that filled the streets of Jersey City with the sound of heavy gunfire for hours, authorities said.

The dead included two suspects, Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly said.

The shooting took place at two scenes, starting at a cemetery, where the officer was gunned down, and continuing at a kosher supermarket, where five more bodies were found, Kelly said.

“Our officers were under fire for hours,” the chief said.

He would not say exactly what set off the shooting but that he believes the officer who was killed was trying to stop some “bad guys.”

City Public Safety Director James Shea said that authorities believe the bloodshed was not an act of terrorism but that it was still under investigation.

Two other officers were wounded but were later released from the hospital, authorities said.

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Update: 4:00 pm:

“Multiple people” are dead in a shooting at the JC Kosher Grocery store in Jersey City, sources said.

One police officer has been killed.

There has been no word on the identity of the victims yet. Sources are reporting that at least 2 of the victims were Jewish.

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Update: 2:30 pm:
One suspect appears to have been “neutralized,” police said.

Video seems to show suspects being led away by police moments ago.

Video:

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JERSEY CITY, NJ (VINnews) — There is an active shooter situation taking place in Jersey City on Tuesday afternoon.

Two gunmen are firing upon police and random people from inside a Kosher store on Martin Luther King Drive near Bidwell Avenue. At least one police officer has been injured so far.

Police said in a radio transmission that the gunmen are shooting at anyone they see on the street, and have fired at the Sacred Heart School located nearby.

One police officer heard in a radio transmission said that every time a police officer moves toward the shooter, gunfire comes from a window at them.

Martin Luther King Drive has been cleared of people, police said.

LIVE:

What some early reports described as a bodega is in fact the “JC Kosher Supermarket,” located at 223 Martin Luther King Dr and a focal point of the Greenville neighborhood’s growing Jewish community, Chabad.org reported.

The store is located next door to a small, yet visible, synagogue, said Rabbi Shmuel Levitin, who directs Chabad Young Professionals of Hoboken and Jersey City with his wife Esta, and frequents the store.

Nearby schools and a local Yeshiva have been placed on lock down.

The shooters have been described by eyewitnesses as a male and a female, “wearing long black raincoats.”

Please say Tehillim for חיים בן לאה and משה צבי בן בתיה לאה

In Crown Heights, the NYPD 71st Precinct issued a statement:

“We are closely monitoring the situation in Jersey City. At his time we have no direct connection or threat anywhere to NYC.

However, we are deploying extra coverage into the Jewish area to reassure the community of their safety. As more information becomes available we will keep you updated.”