KEARNY –
At 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28, Kearny police received a report from University Hospital in Newark that doctors there were treating a man for a gunshot wound apparently suffered in Kearny.
Officer Tim Castle was dispatched to the hospital to interview the victim, a 28-year-old from Newark, who reportedly said the shooting occurred near Bergen Ave. and Chestnut St. Was there an active shooter in the area? Numerous KPD units responded to the location and, during a foot search, found blood on the sidewalk on the 100 block of Chestnut.
Det. Sgt. Michael Gonzalez and Det. John Fabula joined Castle at the hospital and, police said, the victim told them he had been walking in the neighborhood when he felt a burning sensation in his side and realized he had been shot.
Reportedly, instead of calling 911, he phoned an acquaintance to come and pick him up and drive him to the ER.
[Editor’s note: That makes sense. Not.]
Back at the scene, the investigating officers concluded that, in all probability, the shooting had occurred inside a residence. Checking weapons records, they found that a legally registered handgun was indeed linked to a certain nearby address and they confronted the occupant, a 28-year-old man.
Police said the gun owner eventually admitted that he and the victim, who were friends, had been in the home, handling the Kearnyite’s loaded .40 caliber Smith &Wesson, when the weapon accidentally discharged, a bullet striking the visitor.
No charges were filed against either man. Although a law enforcement source remarked that “at the very least, the gun owner needs a refresher course in weapon safety.”
– Karen Zautyk
