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Suspect Dies Following Police-Involved Shooting In New Jersey

PASSAIC, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – A suspect died Friday morning following a police-involved shooting overnight in Passaic, New Jersey.

Just before midnight Thursday, police responded to reports of gunshots near Myrtle Avenue and Harrison Street.

When officers arrived on the scene, a group of people allegedly took off running, including one person with a gun. One officer opened fire, striking the suspect.

"He's got a gun," scanner audio says.

"Shots fired, shots fired. Harrison."

"Headquarters, let's start making the notifications. Officer-involved shooting. We have one party hit. We have one handgun on scene, and one officer involved in that shooting."

The suspect was taken to the hospital, where he later died. The officers involved were not injured.

Authorities said a gun was recovered on the scene.

Several neighbors told CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis they were woken up to the sound of gunshots.

"You hear like people coming down the street. Once you get to the middle, you hear like more gunshots, like a whole 10 shots in total," one woman said.

"Like 'boom, boom, boom,' like five or seven times," said Rudy Varela, whose three kids were sleeping. "I was worried because I have my kids in the house. Sometimes a bullet can go through, sometimes you never know."

"I knew it was shots, but I always tell my family to always keep down and don't look out the window," another man added.

Many neighbors were wondering what led up to all this.

"This is kind of new to us, and I've been on the block 50 years – over 50 years," Isaac White said.

The Attorney General's Shooting Response Task Force is now investigating.

"I was present at the hospital late last night into early this morning in support of our law enforcement community. I stand by our police, their courageous and professional response maintains order in our community and preserves the safety of our law abiding residents.  I am also confident in the ability of the attorney general's office to conduct a fair, thorough, and swift investigation," said Passaic Mayor Hector Lora.

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