18 shootings in 2 weeks in N.J.’s largest city. The violence ‘must be stopped,’ its mayor says. – NJ.com

It’s been a bloody couple of weeks for the state’s largest city.

At least 16 shootings unfolded in Newark from July 20 to July 31, officials confirmed Monday. Then two more shootings occurred Sunday, which resulted in at least three people shot and a 10-year-old girl injured.

In a statement, Mayor Ras Baraka said the violence “will not be tolerated and must be stopped.”

“Now more than ever, we need the help of every resident, every community group, and every resource, to fight against what appears to be one of our toughest adversaries,” Baraka said.

There were three violent incidents Sunday — two shootings and a fatal stabbing — that left two people dead.

Newark resident Victorino Garcia, 36, was stabbed to death on Taylor Street around 2:41 a.m. Then just before 4 p.m., 28 rounds were fired on the 200 block of 6th Avenue West, officials said. Two men were shot and are in stable condition and a 10-year-old girl was injured. Officials said the child was not shot, but appeared to be hit with a ricocheting projectile.

And just after 6:30 p.m., a man was fatally shot on 14th Avenue, according to a statement from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. Detectives are still working to identify the victim.

In addition to those incidents, Newark resident Rashidah Sutton-Bryant, 21, was killed the night of July 26 at the Bradley Court housing complex on North Munn Avenue.

The particularly violent stretch in Newark comes at a time when major cities across the country, including New York City, are experiencing an uptick in shootings.

In a statement, the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition said it “wholeheartedly condemns the recent round of shootings that have taken place in the last few weeks.”

“Most disturbing is that many of these shootings have been drive-bys, or in a similar indiscriminate fashion where shooters have shot into crowds of people,” the statement said. “Put the guns down. Go home. Love and appreciate your families and your community.”

Despite the spike in shootings, homicides in Newark have been down for the past four years, Baraka said.

The city has seen a 28% reduction in fatal shooting victims as of July 26 compared to 2019, according to statistics provided by the Newark Police Department. In May, there were four fatal shootings, compared to seven the previous year. But in July, there have been five as of July 26, compared to just one in July 2019.

Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said it’s common for the city to see more shootings during the summer.

“During the summer months, we generally see an uptick in violence,” Ambrose said in a statement announcing the arrests of 16 people for gun crimes and three shooting arrests. “We have had five years in a row of fewer victims of violence. It’s sad, the amount of illegal guns that get into the wrong hands.

“Imagine if New Jersey didn’t have one of the toughest gun laws in the country.”

Statewide, there had been 100 fatal shooting victims this year as of July 15, a 19% increase from the same time last year, according to Col. Patrick Callahan, the acting superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.

“We’re certainly concerned about it,” Callahan said at a coronavirus media briefing in Trenton that same day. “We’re seeing way too many shootings, and the likelihood of it continuing through the warm summer months gives us a tremendous amount of concern.”

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com.