Cop-killing NJ teen comes from ‘bad’ family, report says

✅ The 14-year-old was part of a group that opened fire on Newark police officers

✅ Sgt. Joseph Azcona was still in his vehicle when he was struck

✅ Under NJ law the teen cannot be charged as an adult

The 14-year-old charged in the shooting of a Newark police officer posted an image of the gun he used hours before the shooting, according to a New York Post report.

The boy's aunt told the Post the teen left his home on North 9th Street about 40 minutes before the shooting headed to the White Castle. Once he arrived, he posted the photo of the "ghost gun," which was spotted by Sgt. Joseph Azcona and showed it off during an Instagram live, an unnamed law enforcement source told the Post.

Azcona was part of a team of Newark police detectives and federal agents that had gone to capture a suspect in an illegal weapons sting. They were greeted by a hail of bullets after identifying themselves as police. Azcona never got a chance to get out of his vehicle.

A source told the Post that the boy comes from a "a really, really bad family." His mother and her twin sister are reputed drug dealers in Newark. The teen had only lived in Newark for six months after moving from Georgia where he played basketball and football.

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Change juvenile law, police demand

The 14-year-old was charged as a juvenile with murder, attempted murder and possession of illegal weapons, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stevens II. Under New Jersey law he cannot be tried as an adult and his identity will be protected. The New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police would like to see that change.

"There needs to be checks and balances in the juvenile justice system, allowing for a review of a juvenile's record by a judge or prosecutor, before deciding if that suspect is charged as an adult or not," the union said on their Facebook page.

NJ State PBA President Peter Andreyev seeks a similar change.

"Detective Azcona's murder is outrageous and should shock every NJ resident. The fact that some 14 year old decides to assassinate a New Jersey officer shows the failure of so many systems. What kind of society are we creating," Andreyev said on the union's X account.

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