One dead, seven wounded in three shooting incidents in Paterson over the weekend

Five people were wounded in a shooting incident in the area of Madison and Essex streets in Paterson early Sunday — a day after two other shooting incidents in the city left one man dead and two wounded. 

The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office said city police found a 25-year-old Haledon man wounded at the scene after responding to a report of shots being fired at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday. Authorities said four other people, including a 17-year-old, also had been shot in that area and all of the victims were taken to St. Joseph's University Medical Center.

None of the victims were identified by authorities, who said three men — two 19-year-olds and a 30-year-old — were city residents. They did not provide information about the residence of the 17-year-old.

The shooting came a little more than 27 hours after a Paterson man was fatally shot at around 1 a.m. Saturday on Belle Avenue. Authorities identified the victim as 27-year-old Yeshawn Staggers. Paterson police did not find him when they arrived at the scene but were told he had been taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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In Saturday's second shooting incident, which occurred around 3:45 a.m., police said they found a wounded 26-year-old man in the area of Fifth Avenue and East 11th Street, and that he was taken to the hospital. A second man, 19 years old, had been taken by a private vehicle to the hospital. Both men are Passaic residents, authorities said.

So far this year there have been 11 homicides in the city, including 10 fatal shootings. There were 14 homicides by this time last year.

Three of this year's fatal shootings occurred in the 5th Ward — including last month's shooting of a 15-year-old girl from North Haledon, which occurred in the same area as Sunday's incident. The girl, whose body was found in front of an Essex Street home, died from a gunshot to the head. Police said four men between the ages of 21 and 32 also were wounded in that incident.

There have been 47 shooting incidents in the city this year, and 50 people non-fatally wounded. The numbers are down from last year at this time, when there had been 63 shooting incidents and 83 people non-fatally wounded.

Anyone with information may contact the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office on its tips line at 1-877-370-PCPO or by email at tips@passaiccountynj.org. They also may contact the Paterson Police Detective Bureau at 973-321-1120.

Joe Malinconico of Paterson Press contributed to this article.

Abbott Koloff is an investigative reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to his watchdog work that safeguards our communities and democracy, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: koloff@northjersey.com 

Twitter: @abbottkoloff