Ibn Downey was 18 when he was fatally shot in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2019 in East Orange. The shooting occurred about 12:45 a.m. near 178 North 17th Street; responding officers found Downey with multiple gunshot wounds and he was pronounced dead at 1:06 a.m. A second victim, also 18 and female, suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was taken to a hospital.

Downey was from Newark and a member of the founding class of the Eagle Academy for Young Men of Newark. He was described as friendly, family-oriented, and having an independent spirit. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the East Orange Police Department opened a joint investigation; no suspects or arrests have been publicly identified and the case remains under investigation. An Islamic funeral service was held for Downey on January 8, 2019.

If anyone has information about what happened that night, please come forward to assist the investigation.