According to officials, a 13-year-old boy was shot in the chest just after 10 a.m., 10 minutes away from the south ward and right across the street from Bragaw School, where there was glass from a shattered car window on the ground.
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Sources say the victim drove his car back to Grand Avenue, and holed up in a house until an ambulance took him to University Hospital in stable condition.
Newark Police would not say if this was the result of an attempted car theft, and said the circumstances behind the shooting are still under investigation.
People who have lived in the neighborhood for quite some time told Eyewitness News that there is a major crisis in the west ward, where very young teens are recruited to steal cars that are notoriously easy to take.
"Our biggest problem with the youth here is auto theft," said Aldwan Lassiter, Director of Hubb Arts and Trauma Center. "That's why they have us in position to minimize some of this."
Lassiter says he knows the 13-year-old who was shot. He says he's one of the local kids he'd like to get involved in his city-sponsored organization, which works to sway kids away from crime.
"Every ward has an influx of auto theft. I'm not sure if this is related to a carjacking," Lassiter said.
Eyewitness News reporter Toni Yates met a woman on Grand Avenue who said that her car was stolen from this area just this past Saturday.
"When I came out, the spot was empty, broken glass was there and the car was gone," she said.
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