Eyewitnesses recount police-involved shooting in Bayonne
Bayonne police were involved in an officer-involved shooting early Thursday morning.
It happened at West 55th Street and Broadway at around 7 a.m.
News helicopters were over the scene as caution tape blocked off areas of the parking lot. Investigators could be seen walking around the area.
Witnesses say they heard several gunshots.
A Burger King is a piece of this investigation so far, but witnesses and a law enforcement source say this whole incident actually began at a nearby Quick Check.
That’s where a gas station attendant told reporters that a man went to fill up his gas tank, said he’d pay with cash, and then allegedly took off without paying.
The nearby Burger King, less than a minute’s walk away, was cordoned off with crime scene tape when reporters arrived.
Investigators were piecing together evidence for much of the morning.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed a police-involved shooting but provided no further details.
The gas station attendant told reporters that after the man stole gas, police stopped him for running a light somewhere near the Burger King. That’s when at least two eyewitnesses heard gunshots.
“Usually when some people drive off, we just file a police report, nothing happens. I didn’t think it was going to escalate to a shooting. I didn’t expect to wake up this morning to gunshots,” said Gabe, a gas station attendant.
“There were at least four shots. You know, shot sounds, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow. I said, ‘Oh my God, what is that?’ And my husband said, ‘That’s a gunshot! That’s a gunshot!'” said Shirley Johnson Hall, an eyewitness.
It’s still very early in the investigation and a lot of this information is preliminary.
It’s unclear if anyone was hit by gunfire at this point or if anyone is in custody.
Reporters did see a police cruiser being towed away from the scene.
Reporters did reach out to the police, the prosecutor’s office, the attorney general, and the mayor for more information.