A shooting in Paterson's Eastside neighborhood reportedly left one person dead Sunday night, according to preliminary reports, though authorities have not officially confirmed the death or released details about a suspect or motive. Police and emergency medical personnel responded shortly before 8 p.m. to the area of East 38th Street and 21st Avenue, per those preliminary reports.
According to RLS Media, initial reports described the victim as unconscious with significant injuries, and additional information indicated the person had sustained a gunshot wound to the head while inside a vehicle. The outlet reported the victim was reportedly deceased, but cautioned that authorities had not officially confirmed the death. Investigators secured the shooting scene, and police reportedly requested additional assistance with traffic and crowd control as the investigation unfolded.
As of the report, the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office had not released an official statement confirming the incident, and information about a possible suspect or motive was not immediately available, per the same account. The article was written by Richard L. Smith for RLS Media under the outlet's fatal-shooting coverage.
A City Already on Edge After a Violent Weekend
The reported Eastside shooting comes months after a separate, confirmed shooting shook another part of the city. One person was killed and three others were injured in that incident, according to abc7ny.com. The violence there erupted around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, 2026, near the intersection of East 29th Street and 10th Avenue.
The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office said one of the injured victims in that shooting was a young teenager, the station reported. Paterson City Councilman Luis Velez said the city had installed security cameras in the area, which he described as a crime hotspot, in an effort to curb violence there.
Other Recent Paterson Shootings Have Proven Deadlier
Paterson has seen other shootings with higher casualty counts in recent memory. A separate incident left two people dead and four wounded, according to CBS News New York. Police responding just before 8:30 p.m. found six people with gunshot wounds outside a liquor store at Rosa Parks Boulevard and Godwin Avenue.
A 43-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman were pronounced dead in that shooting, while the other four victims were reported stable, per CBS News New York. Sources told the outlet that investigators believed the incident was a drive-by shooting, and the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office had not released any information about a possible motive.
City Officials Point to Declining Violence Overall
Despite the string of recent incidents, city leaders have pointed to broader improvement in Paterson's crime statistics this year. Mayor Andre Sayegh said shootings were down 60% over the previous two years and gun-violence victims were down 66%, per CBS News New York's report. Separately, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General has noted that total reported crime in categories tracked by the Paterson Police Department was down 16% through August 30 compared with the same period in 2025, with the department recording 14 shooting incidents and 25 shooting victims year-to-date, though the full year-over-year comparison for those shooting figures was not detailed in that release.
RLS Media reported that the Eastside shooting victim was unconscious with significant injuries and later reported deceased, although authorities had not officially confirmed the death. The victim's identity had not been released as of the original report. Hoodline will update this story if the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office or Paterson police issue further information.
