New Jersey High School Teacher Fatally Shot While Sitting In Car With Son

EAST ORANGE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – A New Jersey high school teacher and his son were shot early Friday morning, killing the father.

The Essex County prosecutor’s office said it happened around 1 a.m. on South 16^th Street in East Orange.

Kofi Owens, 45, of Newark, taught at STEM Academy, helping students learn to code.

“Mr Kofi Owens was a dedicated employee working within the East Orange School District for over 10 years. He was well respected by his colleagues and students. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family,” superintendent Dr. Kevin West said in a statement.

“I am extremely saddened to learn of the tragic death of Kofi Owens, a beloved and well-respected teacher and mentor in our East Orange School District. My deepest sympathy goes out to his family and all of those who will feel the loss throughout our community,” said Mayor Ted Green. “This type of violence will not be tolerated in our city, and we are working aggressively with all law enforcement agencies to ensure that those responsible are swiftly brought to justice using every means necessary.”

In an exclusive interview, his wife told CBS2’s Alice Gainer that Owens was sitting in a car with his 25-year-old son and a former student, listening to the student’s music, when he and his son were both shot.

“I love him, I’m going to miss him,” Sharonda Owens said of her husband, high school sweetheart and father of their two children. “They students, they grow up, they keep in contact with him. A lot of these kids still come around to the house, because they love him. He’s a great dad — not just to his own kids, but a great father figure in general.”

She said her son underwent surgery Friday and has two bullets in one of his legs, plus a broken femur.

“They just said that somebody was shooting and they just started shooting in the car, they didn’t even – I don’t know, I don’t know,” she said.

So far, no arrests have been made.