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Everything happened quickly after that. By the time it was done, an accused shooter was in custody and two handguns had been recovered, Paterson Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said.
Detectives and uniformed officers rushed to the corner of Rosa Parks Boulevard and Putnam Street following the 2 p.m. shooting on Monday, Feb. 20.
As many as 17 shots were believed fired before both groups scattered with no one apparently struck.
Some of them got into a Honda Accord that sped off, leaving two companions behind, Speziale said.
Detectives began following, but the car was being driven recklessly and they pulled back.
Attention turned to the pair in tracksuits who were forced to flee on foot.
Officer Angelica Rodriguez spotted them moments later.
She emerged from her radio car and ordered both to stop, but they continued running, the director said.
One of them tossed a 9mm Palmetto Dagger equipped with an extended 30-round magazine onto a roof as they ran down Mercer Street, Speziale said.
Officer Francisco Brito joined in the foot chase as the second man -- identified as ex-con Damien Vargas, 28 -- tossed his gun over a fence, the director said.
The officers grabbed Vargas, whom the detective at the street corner identified as one of the shooters.
His companion kept running and eventually vanished, he said.
Police recovered the second tossed gun, a 9mm Taurus G3c, along with nine shell casings from the scene that matched the calibers of both weapons, Speziale said.
Both were being sent to New Jersey State Police for ballistics testing, the director said.
Vargas, meanwhile, was sent to the Passaic County Jail. He remained held there on Tuesday, charged with various weapons offenses.
One of those charges -- having a gun in his possession as a convicted felon -- should prevent his release under New Jersey's bail reform law.
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