Police provide update on mass shooting near University of Delaware

Good afternoon. Thank you all for being here today. We are here today to announce the arrest of two individuals responsible for the October 31st shooting on East Main Street. We'll get into the details of the arrests and the associated charges in a few minutes, but first I want to provide a summary of the incident and the subsequent investigation. On October 31st, at approximately 11.11 p.m., officers responded from the Newark Police Department and several assisting agencies to the gunfire on East Main Street near Choate Street. The first responding officer arrived within 20 seconds, and the gunfire had already stopped. Multiple additional officers arrived within moments, and the crowds were fleeing off of Main Street. At this point, it was believed that the suspects involved had fled with the crowds. Officers immediately began providing medical assistance and requested EMS respond to the scene. A later search of the Newark Police Public Safety Camera System confirmed that the suspects fled in a vehicle approximately 30 seconds after the shooting. While rendering aid, officers discovered that one of the victims, a 16-year-old male, was in possession of a handgun. Officers secured that handgun and continued rendering aid to that individual and the five other victims that were located. EMS personnel from Etna Hose Hook and Ladder, Christiana Fire Company, Mill Creek Fire Company, Minquist Fire Company, the New Castle County Emergency Medical Services, and the University of Delaware Emergency Care Unit all responded to the scene, with the first EMS unit arriving at approximately 11.17 p.m. All six victims that were located were treated by first responding officers and EMS personnel and then transported to area hospitals. Their injuries and current medical status are as follows. A 19-year-old male from Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, sustained a gunshot wound to his back. He remains hospitalized in stable condition. A 20-year-old male from Wilmington, Delaware, sustained a gunshot wound to his back. He has been released from the hospital. A 21-year-old female from Wilmington, Delaware, sustained a graze wound to her leg. She was treated and released from the hospital. A 16-year-old male sustained gunshot wounds to his midsection and lower body. He remains hospitalized in stable condition. This victim is the one that was in possession of a handgun. A 15-year-old male from Wilmington, Delaware, sustained a gunshot wound to his back. He remains hospitalized in stable condition. A 15-year-old male from New Castle County, Delaware, sustained a gunshot wound to his foot. He was treated and released from the hospital. On Monday, November 2nd, investigators learned of a seventh victim who had not reported that he had been shot to the police. Investigators subsequently contacted this subject, who is a 17-year-old male from New Castle, Delaware, and confirmed that he had sustained a grazed wound to his lower body. He was taken to an area hospital treated and released. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, responding officers worked to secure the scene, provide medical assistance, clear individuals who had sheltered in nearby locations, identify witnesses, and preserve evidence along East Main Street. The Newark Police Criminal Investigations Division responded and assumed responsibility for the investigation. Now, before I discuss the investigation further, I want to address questions about what our department knew leading up to Halloween weekend and what steps we took to prepare. In the days preceding Halloween, we learned of information circulating on social media regarding potential large gatherings, sometimes referred to as teen takeovers. Our officers immediately evaluated that information, coordinated with our regional law enforcement And as part of those efforts, officers from the Newark Police Department and other police agencies contacted the juveniles that we thought might be responsible for coordinating and attending a potential gathering. Following those contacts, our crime analysts observed social media activity encouraging people not to come to Newark and not to participate in any type of gathering. We also received information from several of those juveniles in person who said they were not coming to Newark because of the large police presence and they didn't want to get arrested. We had no actionable intelligence or information to corroborate that there was any legitimate threat of violence to our community. Nevertheless, we recognized the potential for extremely large crowds in Newark as part of Halloween weekend. As a result, we significantly increased our Newark Police staffing for that weekend. We received assistance from officers from the University of Delaware and the Delaware Division of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana Enforcement, who were working side-by-side with us throughout the weekend. The majority of those personnel were assigned to the downtown business district, as that's where we anticipate the largest concentration of people. In the days leading up to Halloween weekend, we also contacted the Delaware State Police and the New Castle County Police and advised them that we potentially might need assistance if we experience large crowds in Newark. As Saturday evening progressed, the downtown business district became extremely crowded with both pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Although the crowds were large, they were generally orderly and many individuals wore wearing Halloween costumes, enjoying the atmosphere. That we've come to enjoy in downtown Newark. At approximately 11 p.m., 11 minutes before the shooting, we contacted the Delaware State Police and the New Castle County Police and asked them to respond to Newark to assist us with the growing crowds. Officers from those agencies were arriving on scene when the shooting occurred. Turning now to the investigation, once the scene was secured, our investigators began an extensive investigation. That continued throughout the overnight hours and into the coming days. Investigators reviewed footage from our Newark police public safety camera system, which captured the movements of the suspects before, during, and immediately following the shooting. Using information from that footage, along with our automated license plate recognition technology, investigators quickly identified a vehicle associated with the suspects. I can't emphasize enough the value of that technology. Our public safety cameras and our license plate recognition systems provided investigators with critical information early in this investigation, allowing them to quickly develop leads and identify individuals potentially involved. This vital information gave our investigators a starting point, and they have worked around I'm going to turn it over to you, Mr. Chairman, to identify the occupants of the suspect vehicle and those involved. As a result of our investigation, we determined that two individuals discharged firearms during this incident. Those individuals have been identified as a 17-year-old male from Northeast Maryland and an 18-year-old male from Wilmington, Delaware. This morning, a Newcastle County grand jury indicted both individuals on the following charges. Seven counts of attempted murder first degree, eight counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, One count of conspiracy first degree, one count reckless endangering in the first degree, one count carrying a concealed deadly weapon. The 17-year-old was additionally indicted for one count of possession of a firearm by a person under the age of 21. With the assistance of the Cecil County Sheriff's Office, the 17-year-old was located and taken into custody on Friday, November 6th, in Cecil County. He remains in custody in a juvenile detention facility in Maryland, awaiting extradition to Delaware as a state fugitive. The 18-year-old suspect was taken into custody this morning by the U.S. Marshals Service in Wilmington, Delaware. He remains in custody at Newark Police Department, awaiting arraignment. As previously reported, one of the shooting victims, a 16-year-old male, was also found to be in possession of a handgun. That individual was subsequently charged on November 1st. He was charged with possession of a firearm by a person under the age of 21, carrying a concealed deadly weapon, breach of release. He was also, he was arraigned on those charges at the hospital, and he remains hospitalized. While we've made substantial progress in identifying those believed to be responsible, we still have a lot of questions to answer. Our investigators continue to work to determine what precipitated this incident. The sequence of events that unfolded and whether or not any other additional individuals are involved. If anyone from the public has any information to provide to us on this shooting, they're asked to contact the Criminal Division at 302-366-7127 or via our tips page, which is newarkdepolicepress.com forward slash tips. So I want to recognize the tremendous assistance that we've received from the University of Delaware Police, the Delaware Division of Alcohol, Tobacco and Marijuana Enforcement, the New Castle City Police, the New Castle County Police, the Delaware State Police, Etna Hose Hook and Ladder, Minquist Fire Company, Mill Creek Fire Company, New Castle County Emergency Medical Services and the University of Delaware Emergency Care Unit. All of these agencies responded directly to the scene And provided assistance in caring for the victims, securing the scene, and restoring order in what can only be described as a chaotic incident. We continue to receive assistance from most of these agencies, as well as others, as our investigation progresses. I also want to thank the members of the public who came to our assistance that evening, providing aid to those that were injured, providing information to our responding officers. Submitting video, photographs, and other tips. The cooperation that we've received from the Newark and the University of Delaware communities has been nothing short of remarkable, and I'm extremely grateful for that. Finally, before I turn the podium over to Chief Deputy Dan Logan, I want to recognize the outstanding work of the men and women of the Newark Police Department and the Attorney General's Office. Our police officers, communication officers, investigators, civilian employees, and members of the Attorney General's Office responded out that night into an extraordinarily difficult situation, and they've worked tirelessly in the hours and days that followed. They continue to work around the clock, literally around the clock, reviewing evidence, conducting interviews, and following leads. Their efforts allowed us to quickly identify those involved in this incident in a remarkably short period of time. While we are pleased with the progress that we've made, we also recognize that seven individuals were injured, several seriously, and this incident has had a significant impact on all of them, their families, and our communities. We are hopeful that they will all We all have a full recovery.