Interim New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba has announced that a 14-year-old gang member accused of fatally shooting a Newark police detective will be charged as an adult in federal court as she vows to crack down on violent crime in the Garden State.
The teen suspect, who has not yet been publicly identified and is an alleged member of the violent Bloods gang, is accused of shooting and killing Detective Joseph Azcona in Newark last month while he was inside his police vehicle. Another officer was also injured in the shooting.
“We’ll be charging that minor as an adult. We filed the papers yesterday,” Habba told the New York Post on Wednesday as she accompanied a multi-agency law enforcement raid on wanted criminals in Brick City.
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Habba, President Donald Trump’s former attorney who was sworn in to her new role on Friday, issued a firm warning to violent underage offenders.
“The message is very clear: If you’re a child, I don’t care. If you shoot a cop, you’re getting tried as an adult. I have no tolerance for violence and we’re gonna clean up New Jersey.”
Offenders under age 15 cannot be tries as adults New Jersey but Habba said her office filed papers to take the case to federal court where the teen will be eligible.
“He’s 14 years old; he’s part of a gang — he shot a cop who came out to get him and the officer is now dead. He was 26 years old,” Habba told the Post.
The teen was initially charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of illegal weapons.
POLICE OFFICER KILLED, ANOTHER INJURED IN SHOOTING INVOLVING 14-YEAR-OLD SUSPECT: AUTHORITIES
The slain officer was part of a team of Newark police detectives and federal agents that had gone to capture a suspect in an illegal weapons sting when the officer was fired on in his vehicle, authorities said.
The other officer who was struck was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening, authorities said. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka called the shooting a “heinous, callous disregard for humanity” and that officers had gone to the scene knowing that “grave danger was possible.”
During Wednesday’s raid, law enforcement arrested an 18-year-old alleged Bloods gang member with a history of weapons charges and wanted for aggravated assault after an incident in which he allegedly shot two people, the Post reported.
Habba, meanwhile, also outlined her zero tolerance for human trafficking in New Jersey.
“One of my first orders of business was creating a Human Trafficking Task Force and appointing an incredibly talented and passionate Assistant U.S. Attorney to lead it,” Habba wrote on X Wednesday.
“The World Cup will be hosted in New Jersey in 2026 and it will be safe. WE WILL BE READY!”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
