On the morning of Friday, September 26, 2025, Newark police responded to a ShotSpotter alert near Halsted Street and Norwood Place and found a young man shot inside a Honda Fit on Smith Street. The victim was 23-year-old Jeramahia Bascal of Newark. He was taken to University Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after 5:00 a.m.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office opened an active investigation into Bascal’s death. Reports say no arrests or suspect identifications have been publicly announced, and authorities have not released a motive or detailed circumstances of the shooting. The slaying was one of three separate shootings in the city within a 24-hour period that included one other fatality and a critically injured person.

If anyone knew Jeramahia Bascal or has information about the events around Halsted Street, Norwood Place, or Smith Street that night, please come forward with what you know.