This article has been updated. Please click here.
As many as thirty shots may have been fired during a major shootout early Saturday morning in the Powerhouse Arts District, according to a resident from the area.
The Powerhouse Arts District, an upscale Downtown neighborhood which lies south of the Shoprite shopping center between Marin and Washington Boulevards, has recently seen surge of new residents and luxury development.
While many of the details have yet to emerge, the shootout was described by one resident as a “major gun battle.” The resident also told Jersey City Times that people living in the area were “very concerned.”
RLS media reported a “shots-fired” incident in the 30s block of Provost Street just before 2:40 a.m. There have been several reports that the shootout involved a stolen car.
The administration and the Office of Public Safety have declined to release any information. However, Mayor Fulop reportedly became personally involved, sending some residents “a detailed email” about steps the city would take to investigate the incident.
According to another person, approximately thirty crime scene evidence markers were placed on the ground, with each one indicating the possible presence of a shell casing. A “shell casing” is “that part of ammunition capable of being used in a pistol or revolver that contains the primer and propellant powder to discharge the bullet or projectile.”
The Jersey City Times asked the mayor’s spokesperson for comment and received no response.