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Members of the police department's street crimes unit were conducting an investigation near Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and Oak Street when they saw a man later identified as Korron Bethall with a handgun around 8 p.m., Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said Wednesday.
When approached by the officers who identified themselves as police, Benthall fled across the parking lot of the Salem Lafayette Public Housing Complex, dropped the gun, which he then picked back up and raised, Suarez said.
One officer shot at Benthall, hitting him in the wrist, Suarez said.
Benthall was transported to the Jersey City Medical Center for treatment for the non-life threatening injury, and a loaded semi-automatic handgun was recovered from the immediate scene, the prosecutor said.
The officer who shot Benthall is in his eighth year in the department, officials said during a press conference Tuesday. His identity has not been released.
Benthall was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a hollow nose bullet, Suarez said.
"I’m thankful tonight that the police officer involved in the shooting is safe and I’m also thankful that there was no loss of life w/the victim either," Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said in a tweet.
"I am saddened though by the proliferation of inaccurate information on social media in the moments after tonight’s shooting and to see firsthand how quickly lies can spread with retweet after retweet.
"It only reinforces how fragile our society is that it can be hijacked with misinformation so easily. I’m hoping for better days ahead."
The State Attorney General assigned the investigation to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Shea said.
The body cam footage and other tapes that may have captured the incident will be made available to the media following completion of the investigation, the mayor said.
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