

MONTCLAIR — Four people were shot this morning in a section of Montclair where neighbors say ongoing violence has been a problem for several months.

The Essex County Prosecutor's office said three men and a woman were shot on Mission Street around 1 a.m. today. The woman is in serious condition, Essex County Chief of Detectives Anthony Ambrose said. The men have non-life threatening injuries.

It's the third shooting in the neighborhood since June 1.

Rev. Clenard Childress Jr., a pastor at New Cavalry Baptist Church, said, "It's obviously ongoing; it's probably the same people."

UPDATE:

2 of 4 Montclair shooting victims were also fired upon last month, police say

An 18-year-old who refused to give his name said two of the victims fled after being shot and collapsed in front of his house on Mission Street. The other two victims were found in the vicinity where they were shot.

An EMS worker's glove lies on the ground near where four people were shot this morning in Montclair. A woman is in serious condition.

There were blood stains on the street and on the railing outside the house where the shooting took place. A woman who lives in the house said her son is a friend of one of the victims.

"Over the past two years, it's just getting horrible," said Ta-Tanisha Harrell, who said she moved from East Orange so her children could live in a safer environment. "If I wanted to be in the 'hood, I would have stayed in the 'hood."

"Instead, the 'hood came to me."

On June 1, there was another shooting on Mission Street, neighbors said. Two men have been charged in connection with that shooting.

Three of the victims in this morning's shooting are from Montclair and the fourth is from Newark, according to police.

Police currently have no description of the suspect.

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