A police officer and five other persons were killed in a gun-battle Tuesday that filled the streets of Jersey City, New Jersey with the sound of heavy gunfire for about two hours, authorities said.
Authorities said they believe the bloodshed was not an act of terrorism, but it was under investigation.
Among the dead was a 39 year-old cop, father-of-five. He was pronounced dead in the hospital.
A federal law enforcement source told Fox News that two juvenile suspects – one male and one female – were also killed in the standoff, along with three others inside a supermarket
The gunfire began after the suspects armed with long guns and ‘a U-Haul full of pipe bombs’ launched a two-hour shootout against SWAT team.
The shooting started in a cemetery and ended inside a JC Kosher Supermarket.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that two police officers were were wounded along with a civilian in the hail of gunfire outside a Jersey City supermarket on Tuesday.
A third suspect, described by the source as a black male wearing all black, is still at large
Officials gave no immediate details on what set off the shooting and how it unfolded.
The bullets started flying early in the afternoon in the city of about 270,000 people, situated across the Hudson River from the Statue of Liberty.
The shooting spread fear through the neighbourhood, and the nearby Sacred Heart School was put on lockdown as a precaution.
SWAT teams, state police and federal agents converged on the scene, and police blocked off the area, which in addition to the school and supermarket included a hair salon and other shops. Dozens of bystanders pressed against the police barrier to capture the action on their cellphones, some whooping when bursts of fire could be heard.
Video shot by residents recorded loud volleys of gunfire reverberating along one of the city’s main streets and showed a long line of law enforcement officers pointing guns as they advanced, yelling to bystanders, “Clear the street! Get out of the way!”
“ It’s like firecrackers going off,” said Andy Patel, who works at a liquor store about three blocks away. “They were shooting like crazy. … The cops were clearing everyone off the streets.”
*From the wires
