Four suspects have been arrested and charged in connection with a horrific shooting in Newark that left three people dead, including a 10-year-old boy. The Essex County Prosecutor's office announced the arrests on Thursday morning, just days after another mass shooting occurred in the city, resulting in two deaths and two injuries.
Prosecutor Theodore Stephens acknowledged the double tragedies, stating that the city was experiencing "additional traumas." He emphasized the importance of public safety and law enforcement, saying that sometimes progress is made only to be followed by setbacks. Stephens described the arrest as the result of "hundreds of man hours of good, old-fashioned police work," which led investigators to identify a stolen vehicle allegedly used by the suspects.
The vehicle was discovered with its engine on fire, but additional surveillance efforts revealed another vehicle leaving the scene of the arson. The driver of this second vehicle was identified as Quayon Williams-King, who is now in custody alongside three others: Almuta Thomas, Furquan Boykin Jr., and a juvenile. All four are charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and aggravated assault.
The investigation into the original shooting is ongoing, with Stephens urging caution and emphasizing that there may be other individuals involved. The announcement comes as Newark struggles to cope with its rising violence, with Mayor Ras Baraka calling for shared responsibility in preventing future tragedies. Despite a reported decrease in homicides overall, Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda noted that each victim's loss cannot be measured by statistics.
The Essex County Sheriff's office had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the November case, but no one has come forward to claim the money yet. The arrests mark a small step towards justice for the victims and their families, who are left to pick up the pieces after the senseless loss of life.
Prosecutor Theodore Stephens acknowledged the double tragedies, stating that the city was experiencing "additional traumas." He emphasized the importance of public safety and law enforcement, saying that sometimes progress is made only to be followed by setbacks. Stephens described the arrest as the result of "hundreds of man hours of good, old-fashioned police work," which led investigators to identify a stolen vehicle allegedly used by the suspects.
The vehicle was discovered with its engine on fire, but additional surveillance efforts revealed another vehicle leaving the scene of the arson. The driver of this second vehicle was identified as Quayon Williams-King, who is now in custody alongside three others: Almuta Thomas, Furquan Boykin Jr., and a juvenile. All four are charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and aggravated assault.
The investigation into the original shooting is ongoing, with Stephens urging caution and emphasizing that there may be other individuals involved. The announcement comes as Newark struggles to cope with its rising violence, with Mayor Ras Baraka calling for shared responsibility in preventing future tragedies. Despite a reported decrease in homicides overall, Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda noted that each victim's loss cannot be measured by statistics.
The Essex County Sheriff's office had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the November case, but no one has come forward to claim the money yet. The arrests mark a small step towards justice for the victims and their families, who are left to pick up the pieces after the senseless loss of life.
it's like these guys just keep showing up with guns and causing chaos and violence everywhere! 3 innocent lives lost including a 10-year-old kid, that's just heartbreaking 
the system is supposed to be able to catch people like this but it seems like every other week there's another mass shooting or something. I think we need to do more to support our law enforcement and mental health services because right now it feels like we're always one step behind 
i feel so sorry for the families of the victims especially that poor 10-year-old boy who lost his life i dont think $10k reward is enough though were we really expecting people to come forward with info just cuz of a measly prize gotta give it up to the investigators tho their dedication to solving these cases is real 
but seriously what can we do as a community to prevent this senseless violence from happening again?
we need to do better as a society, more community engagement, mental health support for all ages... these kids are being wasted on us 
. And what's with all these guys being charged with multiple counts of murder and conspiracy? That's like, basic math - you either kill someone or you don't, you can't get all those charges and be like "I was gonna do it but then I thought better" 
.
. "Hey, let's frame this other guy for our crime!" or "We'll just burn another car to throw everyone off the scent". No thanks 
. I wish we could do more than just give 'em a token prize for someone to claim. It's time for Newark to step up its game 
️.
And can we talk about how the system is still failing? I mean, a $10,000 reward and no one comes forward to claim it... what does that even say about our community? It's like we're not taking this stuff seriously enough 
The police do have some good work going on too tho 
but sometimes you gotta wonder if they're doing enough. I'm just so tired of hearing about all these shootings and feeling helpless 
just another day of devastating news... three lives lost, including a 10-yr-old kid 
.
The investigation is still ongoing and it feels like we're not getting the whole truth out 
I mean, $10k reward for info leading to an arrest and no one comes forward yet 
what even is that?! It's just so frustrating 
. We all need to be working towards this together, if we want to make a difference 
. The cops did good work tho, 300+ hours of police work led to the arrest lol. But seriously, it's a small step towards justice, but there's still so much more work to be done 
the fact that a 10-year-old boy had to lose his life is just devastating 
.
but now there's gotta be more people involved in this case, right? 
and can we please talk about how our stats are still rising with homicides? it's not like we're making progress or anything... 
. and what about the juvenile suspect? don't we need to be focusing on rehabilitation over punishment? 