Violent machete attack gets slow Paterson, NJ police response

🔴 A garage owner said he was attacked by eight people with machetes and bats

🔴 It took Paterson police over a week to respond

🔴 It comes after the state took over the police department to increase public trust

PATERSON — It took ten days for police to follow up on a report of an attack by eight men on the owner of an auto garage, the latest violent incident since the state Attorney General's office took over the police department.

Edwin Izaguirra, the owner of Fleet Truck Service on Mill Street in the Little Italy section of Paterson told News 12 New Jersey he and an employee were attacked by a group of eight armed with machetes and bats on May 13. It took Paterson police until May 23 to respond to his report and open an investigation, according to Izaguirra.

The shop's security cameras captured the attack on video.

Izaguirra told News 12 he believes the altercation was over how a customer parked his car in front of the shop.

Paterson police were taken over by the state Attorney General's Office on March 27 because of a series of scandals and police-involved shootings in recent years. One of the stated goals of the takeover was to improve communication between the department and the public.

The Attorney General's Office on Wednesday afternoon did not respond to New Jersey 101.5's request for more information.

Violence continues under Attorney General control

The attack is one of a series of violent incidents since the Attorney General's office took over.

Two Paterson men were shot fatally shot Sunday in Paterson within six hours of each other, according to Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes. Police responded to a report of a shooting in the area of River Street and East 13th Street Sunday morning and found a 22-year-old man with gunshot wounds. He was taken to Saint Joseph’s University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Several hours later a 33-year-old Paterson man was found with a fatal gunshot to the head in a parked car the area of 18th Avenue and East 28th Street in Paterson Sunday morning. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Valdes.

A school security guard exchanged gunfire with a man who insisted on parking in a coned off no-parking area in front of Paterson school No. 21 on May 16. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said no one was struck by gunfire.

Multiple shootings on April 14 and 15 left eight people injured including three adult women and a teenager.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom