One police officer and five others are dead after an exchange of gunfire between suspects and law enforcement Tuesday afternoon in Jersey City, police say.
The dead include a police officer was shot in the head in an "ambush" by two suspects, one official told NBC New York. After the first shots, the suspects fled from a rental truck to a kosher supermarket where they exchanged fire with responding officers for several minutes.
Shots rang out at about 12:30 p.m. on Martin Luther King Drive near Bayview Avenue in a Jersey City neighborhood. By 4 p.m., law enforcement officials said five people inside the bodega were dead, including two suspects and three civilians.
At least two responding officers were sent to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop complimented the local police response and said the casualties made it "a tough day for the Jersey City Police Department."
Officials added that there was "no indication" the shooting was terrorism related. Sources explained that the officer who was fatally shot was investigating a homicide when he approached the two suspects who opened fired on him.
The gunshots prompted a massive law enforcement response, including SWAT units and local, state and federal agencies. Police entered the market shortly after 3 p.m. to confirm the shooters were down.
Jersey City public schools were also placed on lockdown over terrorism concerns.
The fallen officer had not been identified as of 4:23 p.m. while officials sought out his next of kin. The officer was reportedly a married 39-year-old father of five.
New Jersey state officials had a news conference scheduled for late Tuesday afternoon.
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