Ceasefire Detectives Luis Fernandez, Sal Marotta and Marvin Escobar, accompanied by Passaic County Prosecutor’s Detective Eugene Tolliver, approached a large group that had gathered in front of a home in the area of North 10 Street and Belmont Avenue, city Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale Jr. said.
The teen suddenly broke off from the group and began running east on North 10th Street – while pulling the gun from his waistband and tossing it, Speziale said.
Detectives caught the boy a short time later and recovered the 9mm semi-automatic handgun, which had been reported stolen out of Colorado, he said.
Police signed delinquency complaints against the teen for various weapons-related offenses, including possession of a stolen firearm.
He remained held Thursday at the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center in Newark pending a hearing in the Family Part of Superior Court in Paterson.
The gun was being submitted to the New Jersey Ballistics Unit to help determine whether it had been used in any shootings.
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