On the evening of September 18, 2024, 26-year-old Nakiyyah T. Blue of Bloomfield was inside a supermarket on the 300 block of South 7th Street in Newark when shots rang out around 8:45 p.m. Newark police found her unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds; she was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:57 p.m.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force led the investigation and identified a suspect, Anthony Hilliard. Hilliard was located at the Hudson County Jail after being treated at a hospital for gunshot wounds he suffered in Jersey City the same night; he was taken into custody and has been charged with Blue’s murder and weapons offenses. The motive for the shooting has not been released.

Anyone with information about what happened inside the West Ward supermarket that evening is asked to come forward.