A 39-year-old man was found suffering from a gunshot wound near Elm and Mill streets in Paterson early Saturday morning, and police say his condition has not been made public. Officers responded to the intersection around 4:03 a.m. after receiving a report of a shooting victim, discovering the wounded man at the scene.
According to Paterson Times, police located a crime scene in the area and found the man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson for treatment, but his condition remained unavailable as of Sunday morning.
Authorities have released no additional details about the shooting, including any information about a possible suspect, weapon, or motive. The outlet's report notes that anyone with information is asked to contact the Paterson Police Shooting Investigation Unit at 973-321-1342.
A Familiar Intersection With a Violent Past
This is not the first time gunfire has struck the Elm and Mill streets area. In 2022, a 38-year-old Paterson man died from a gunshot wound sustained in a shooting near the same intersection, as reported by Patch. That victim was also taken to St. Joseph's University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, and the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office said at the time that the investigation remained active and ongoing.
It is not clear from available records whether that earlier case was ever resolved. The dossier of public reporting reviewed for this story does not indicate an arrest or closure in the 2022 case.
Second Overnight Shooting Reported Across Town
Saturday's shooting near Elm and Mill streets was not the only gunfire reported in Paterson that morning. Roughly 40 minutes earlier, officers responded to the area of Wayne Avenue and Front Street at approximately 3:23 a.m. following a ShotSpotter activation indicating possible gunfire, per RLS Media.
Officers found that a vehicle had been struck by bullets in that incident, though no injuries were reported. The outlet's report adds that the suspect reportedly fled the scene before police arrived and remains at large. It has not been established whether the two shootings are connected.
Mixed Signals on Paterson's Shooting Trends
The overnight violence comes against a backdrop of recent claims about falling shooting numbers in the city. A report attributed to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General states that shooting victims in Paterson decreased 73 percent between June and August 2026 compared with the same period the year before, dropping from 11 to 3. A separate account from the same office references a 41.2 percent decline in shooting incidents between Memorial Day and Labor Day in 2024 compared with the previous year.
Those figures were drawn from limited snippet evidence rather than full official releases, so they should be read with caution rather than treated as a complete picture of the city's current crime trends. Either way, Saturday's shooting and the separate gunfire near Wayne Avenue and Front Street underscore that Paterson police continue to respond to active shooting investigations even as broader statistics point downward.
