Shooting outside cookout in Newark leaves man, child wounded

NEWARK (WABC) -- Police are searching for a gunman after two people, including an 11-year old child, were shot outside a cookout in Newark.

The gunfire erupted Sunday evening in a driveway on South 17th Street.

The boy was grazed by a bullet and was rushed to University Hospital before EMT's arrived on the scene. He is alert and in stable condition.

A man shot in the shoulder was also taken to the hospital by a friend. It was while officers were talking to him that they learned that the child had been shot.

The two were at a friend's home when the shooting occurred.

Police are searching for the gunman who fired recklessly into a group of people.

Authorities say neither the man nor the child were the intended targets. They believe someone else attending the cookout may have been targeted.

Andre Freeman lives across the street from where the victims were hit. The back window of his SUV was blown out by bullets.

"I was asleep last night and heard four or five shots. I thought it was the TV. I came out to see what was going on and the next thing you know I found my glass shot out," said Freeman.

Freeman has spent his entire life in the city. He was getting ready to get his car fixed but this shooting has him ready to find a new place to live.

"It's time to get out of Newark," he said. "There's too much happening right now. My family asked me when I'm leaving so I've got to make a decision."

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Newark Police Department's 24-hour CRIME STOPPERS TIP LINE at 877-NWK-TIPS (877-695-8477) or 877-NWK-GUNS (877-695-4867).