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Gunfire erupted at the corner of Rosa Parks Boulevard and Godwin Avenue outside 230 Liquors shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday.
Taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center with gunshot wounds that weren’t considered life-threatening were two victims – one 15, the other 18, authorities said.
A 31-year-old woman was shot in the leg was brought to the hospital in a private vehicle, they said.
Police were looking for what they initially said was a black Mercedes with tinted windows and four occupants -- one of whom may have been armed with an AK-47 -- that apparently headed toward eastbound Route 80.
The gang known as the 230 Boys has operated primarily along Godwin Avenue between Rosa Parks Boulevard and East 18th Street and in the vicinity of the 12th Avenue basketball courts for years.
Members sell heroin in bricks and bundles that is frequently mixed with fentanyl, a potent, synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin, federal authorities have said..
It’s also potentially fatal: 230 Boys' members and associates were involved in selling heroin tied to more than 60 fatal overdoses in New Jersey in less than a year, according to an ATF complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark.
The 230 Boys are "often involved in ongoing feuds with other local gangs,” including the '4K Korner Boys,' a street gang [that] operates primarily on Rosa Parks Boulevard between Keen and Lyon streets, the complaint says.
They’ve also tangled with the Glock Boys, a street gang that operates primarily on the north side of Paterson and is often referred to by the 230 Boys as “down the hill.”
Members of the 230 Boys were the targets of a drive-by shooting at Rosa Parks and Godwin that killed high school basketball star Armoni Sexton, 15, five year ago.
This past February, a gunman mowed down reputed gangleader Shakeem “230 Starter” Ricks, 25, who’d been convicted in a shooting that killed a popular 14-year-old city girl.
SEE: Reputed Gang Leader Convicted Of Ordering Hit On Paterson Girl, 14, Shot Dead
Also in February, federal authorities charged another reputed 230 Boys member, 22-year-old Wyzier Peterson, with selling the heroin and fentanyl that led to a user’s death.
Peterson was among 17 reputed 230 Boys members charged in a coordinated heroin, fentanyl and cocaine trafficking case assembled last September by a strike force comprised of agents from the DEA, ATF and state, county and local law enforcement.
One of them was captured in Georgia at the end of October and brought to New Jersey earlier this year to face both local and federal charges.
SEE: Federal Fugitive From Paterson Captured In Georgia, Charged With Shooting Belleville Man
The investigation into Sunday night’s shooting was continuing, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora said.
They asked that anyone with additional information that can help identify those responsible contact the Passaic County Prosecutor’s tips line at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org or contact the Paterson Police Ceasefire Unit at (973) 321-1342.
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