A man was pronounced dead at the scene early Friday after Paterson police found him lying face down in the street with gunshot wounds at East 16th Street and 12th Avenue. Officers responded to the area after 7:30 a.m. following a ShotSpotter activation, and advanced life support and EMS were requested for the victim, though he could not be saved.
The shooting set off a chain of investigative steps typical of a homicide scene, according to RLS Media, which reported the killing. Officers recovered shell casings from the area, and gunfire struck at least one nearby building on East 18th Street. Witnesses told police they saw two male suspects flee the scene in a dark-colored SUV, though their identities remain unknown, and the victim's name has not yet been released by authorities.
Train Service Disrupted During Investigation
During the investigation, rail traffic near East 16th Street and 12th Avenue was temporarily suspended at the request of investigating authorities, the outlet's report noted. The full duration of that service stoppage has not been disclosed. The Paterson Police Department is investigating the fatal shooting alongside the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office, which takes confidential tips through a dedicated toll-free line at 1-877-370-PCPO, as previously reported by Hoodline.
Paterson police have asked that anyone with information about the shooting come forward. Investigators have not disclosed a motive for the attack, and no arrests have been announced.
A Street With a Long History of Gun Violence
A Street With a Long History of Gun Violence Friday's homicide is not the first violent incident along this stretch of East 16th Street. The article also references other April 2024 shootings near East 16th Street, though the details of those incidents are not verified here, per RLS Media's earlier coverage.
The neighborhood's history with gunfire stretches back further still. The article also includes a link to Justia Law while discussing an earlier shooting near East 16th Street, but the incident's details are not verified here. Gunshot victims from Paterson scenes are typically routed to St. Joseph's University Medical Center, Passaic County's state-designated Level II Trauma Center, as Hoodline has previously reported.
Violent Crime Has Fallen Sharply Under State Oversight
Friday's killing arrives amid a broader, multi-year decline in violent crime across Paterson. The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General assumed direct control of the Paterson Police Department in March 2023, appointing an officer-in-charge to lead local policing as part of an effort under Attorney General Matthew Platkin to rebuild public trust and modernize the department, according to the agency.
City-level data are discussed in the context of a broader decline in violent crime across Paterson, but the article does not provide verified homicide or shooting-victim totals for 2022 through 2024. Separately, the article does not provide verified Paterson shooting-victim figures for 2025 compared with 2024 or a verified statewide 2025 shooting-injury total.
Even so, gun violence has continued to flare in pockets of the city in recent weeks. On August 30, Paterson police responded to separate shots-fired and robbery calls on Union Avenue, but their connection and sequence remained unclear, Hoodline reported at the time. Friday's fatal shooting on East 16th Street underscores that, even as citywide numbers trend downward, individual blocks like this one remain flashpoints for the joint efforts of Paterson police and the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office.
