The shooting happened in front of the old 18th Avenue elementary school just after 6:30 p.m.
Sources say two masked men pulled up in a dark sedan, got out and opened fire.
The victims have been identified as 36-year old Clifton Purkett of Newark, and 37-year old Rashid Pryor of Plainfield.
The three people wounded are a 34-year old Irvington man, and two Newark men, ages 39 and 45.
They were taken to University Hospital in Newark, where they are expected to survive.
Sources say the victims were all sitting outside the school when the gunmen pulled up.
According to investigators, it appears that at least some of the victims were targeted.
One of the men who was killed was a father with a young daughter.
The Essex County prosecutor's office is not yet releasing the names of the victims.
Two more people were wounded in a second shooting Friday night, which happened at a nearby location. But further details on that shooting have not been disclosed.
