A medical examiner was conducting an autopsy to officially determine whether the boy -- known as "Kay Kay" -- was gunned down in cold blood.
The violent death came two days after a DoorDash delivery driver was shot and killed in her car a block or so from where the boy’s body was found.
SEE: DoorDash Delivery Driver Shot Dead In Paterson
City police responding to a 3:45 p.m. call Sunday found the teen’s body behind a home in the Incca Village housing complex off Harrison Street, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Troy Oswald said Monday.
Valdes and Oswald didn't officially classify his death as a homicide, suicide or accident -- saying, instead, that the medical examiner was determining the cause and manner of death.
The drug trade in the neighborhood where the boy and the 43-year-old dasher were killed has been controlled by the 230 Boys, a violent street gang targeted in a takedown last week by federal, state and local authorities. Arrested were 17 reputed gang members and associates.
SEE: 17 Linked To ‘230 Boys’ Gang Charged With Peddling Fatal Heroin From Paterson
Fifteen homicides have been reported in Paterson this year -- 11 the past three months. Last year there were 12. There were 24 in 2017 and 20 the year before.
Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh posted a Facebook video Monday in which he said he wanted to "reassure the public that public safety is our priority."
He asked that anyone with information that could help the investigation of either shooting contact the prosecutor’s tips line at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org or the Paterson Police Detective Bureau: (973) 321-1120.
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