The mother of a police officer killed in a shooting in New Jersey has spoken out following his death.
During a press conference the following day, authorities identified Newark police detective Joseph Azcona as the officer who was allegedly shot and killed on duty by a 14-year-old on Friday, March 7. (A second police officer was shot and is still in the hospital.)
Azcona’s mother, Martha Vargas, recalled her nephew calling her from the hospital where Azcona was taken before being pronounced dead to tell her about her son, though she admitted she didn’t realize the severity of his injuries at the time.
“I thought it was something simple,” she told the New York Post. “When I got to the hospital, he was like that. “They shot him in the head.”
“That was my baby.” He always wanted to be a cop when he was younger, and when he grew up, he took the test,” Vargas continued, adding, “He was always saying he wasn’t in danger.”
Azcona and the second officer were part of a team of detectives and federal agents investigating illegal weapons when they were involved in a shootout between police and a large group on March 7, according to authorities at a March 8 press conference.
Newark’s director of public safety, Emanuel Miranda, stated that Azcona “didn’t even get a chance to step out of the vehicle before he was struck.”
Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stevens II announced that the 14-year-old suspect had been arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder, and possession of illegal weapons in connection with the incident.
“That’s crazy. It’s crazy. Vargas told the Post that her son’s alleged killer was “a young kid.” “You can’t always blame the parents. You’re not sure what they’re doing. “You can’t blame them.”
She continued, “I don’t blame the parents, believe me. You know how children behave when they interact with other children.”
Authorities said that multiple other suspects were arrested in connection with the incident.
According to ABC News, Essex County Sheriff Amir Jones stated on March 8 that “Law enforcement officers leave their loved ones every day and put their lives on the line for the safety and wellbeing of our communities.”
“The egregious acts that took place last night have left a family, a community and the brotherhood and sisterhood of law enforcement devastated and with a void that can never be filled,” according to him.
