By Thomas Ellis II
On May 19, Mr. Akram Brown of Newark was shot to death in front of his business on Mt. Vernon Place in the West Ward of the city. He died at the scene, in a shooting that took place around 8 pm that evening.
“Buster,” as he was known by family and close friends, was holding a 2-year-old baby when he was shot to death. He was a business owner in the city and had a candy and T-shirt shop on Mt. Vernon Place.
Akram was a believer of the Muslim faith, and believed in giving back to the community. Right after Ramadan ended, he fed the community in front of his store for all who were hungry and in need of food. Mr. Brown was also looking forward to sponsoring several children this year to play baseball with the Ivy Hill Little League, and was going to have a banner made with his business logo to be displayed on the field in Ivy Hill Park.
It’s really a shame that someone would just come up and shoot him, and injure another person at the same time. Someone in the community need to say something so that his family can get the justice they deserve.
Over the past few months, there have been several shootings, robberies, and even murders in the Ivy Hill, Vailsburg section of the city. The 6th Precinct in that area is doing the best they can, but they need the residents of the community to step up, and help them whenever there is a shooting or murder. They cannot just sit back and stay silent, because the silence helps to keep the shooters and killers on the loose.
In the Central Ward on Blum Street, a young man was shot multiple times in the face around 3:30 in the afternoon. He was pronounced a few minutes later. The victim’s name was Charles Pridgen, Jr., and he was 28 years old.
We are still in the spring and with all of this violence going on, it looks like it’s going to be a really hot summer, which could mean that we will see a spike in shootings and murders. Because, it’s been said that when the weather heats up, the crime and violence heats up. Let’s hope that this is not true this year, so that the children can enjoy their summer without attending prayer vigils and memorials.
In the South Ward of the City, over 12 rounds were fired in the area of Bergen and Avon aves. The shooter fired an automatic weapon, leaving shell casings all over the area with three people being hit by gunfire. Again, someone needs to say something, because as long as the shooter is in the community the community is not safe.
The violence continues: a male was shot in an NHA development. The shooting happened at Bradley Court around 4:30 pm. If we begin to look at the times of these shootings, it leaves one to believe that there is no respect for the neighborhood or the residents, and at any given time a person can be injured because of the carelessness and recklessness of those who have guns in their possession. Let’s hope that we can reach some of these people before it’s too late; either they will be a victim or will become victimizers.
Shootings are not the only violent crime going on in Newark. Just the other day, a male was stabbed to death in the Ironbound section during an argument, which turned into a domestic dispute that cost him his life. He was stabbed in the neck, and died from his injuries. Then we had two stabbings on the same street in Newark.
Stabbings have begun to rise throughout the city, with many people being hospitalized or dying from knife wounds. This too is causing a lot of pain and heartache for many families, because no one expects to get a call or a knock on the door from the police, notifying a family member of the violent incident that took the life of their loved one.
So, to be fair with this story, the violence and murders are not only in Newark. In the city of Paterson, a 36 year old female was shot dead, and her body found in an alley way. In Trenton, a male was shot near 215 Coolidge Avenue. In Jersey City, there were several shootings in the past over the past few weeks, with at least one fatality.
In Fairfield Township in Cumberland County, there was a mass shooting that happened at a house party. As of deadline for this article, there was another victim that died from their injuries, which makes the total three dead and 12 injured.
It’s sad that these incidents are happening, but what is truly sad is that we are losing too many people to violence.
