On April 30, 2023, at about 8:09 p.m., gunfire erupted outside a small corner store at 899 18th Avenue in Newark’s Vailsburg section. Officers and prosecutors said they found three men suffering gunshot wounds; Al-Tariq Johnson, 46, was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:26 p.m. Two others were taken to University Hospital, with at least one initially listed in intensive care. Accounts differ on whether two people inside the store were targeted and whether a third person was actually shot during the chaos.

Johnson was raised in Newark and nearby East Orange, attended public schools and later Job Corps in Edison, and worked at RP Baking LLC in Harrison. He performed as a rapper under the stage name Nonsense and was remembered by family and online memorials as devoted to his daughter. A Janazah service at Masjid NIA and burial at Restland Memorial Cemetery followed his death.

Detectives from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force and Newark police searched the rain-soaked block for shell casings and surveillance footage; officials described a suspect who fled but did not name anyone or state a motive. The investigation remains open. If anyone saw the shooting or has information about the events at 899 18th Avenue that night, please come forward with tips.