Who was Joseph Azcona? ‘Hero’ Newark cop killed by 14-year-old remembered for his ‘honor, integrity’
BySumanti Sen
Mar 09, 2025 12:44 PM IST
Detective Joseph Azcona, 26, was killed in a barrage of 29 bullets fired by the teen with an automatic weapon.
A 14-year-old boy is facing murder and attempted murder charges for killing a New Jersey cop, and shooting and injuring a second unnamed officer. Detective Joseph Azcona, 26, was killed in a barrage of 29 bullets fired by the teen with an automatic weapon, the New York Post reported.
Joseph Azcona, Newark cop killed by 14-year-old, hailed as ‘true hero’ (@NJSP/X)
Joseph Azcona, Newark cop killed by 14-year-old, hailed as ‘true hero’ (@NJSP/X)
Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens said at a news conference that Azcona “was shot before he even had the opportunity to leave his police car.” “We need to focus laser sharp on trying to find the reason why this 14-year-old was in the situation that he was — had a gun, felt he could use it against police,” Stephens added. “That’s a crazy situation. That’s one that cannot go unchecked.”
Azcona died at University Hospital on Saturday, March 8, with his mother, father and several brothers surrounding him, Stephens said. The second officer who was injured was taken to the same hospital, and so was the suspect, who was shot too. Both of them are expected to survive their gunshot wounds.
The incident took place near the intersection of Carteret Street and Broadway in Newark. Azcona, a member of the intelligence unit, and other officers working with the FBI and ATF, probed for guns when gunfire erupted.
“Based on criminal intelligence, the police were investigating the possibility that these individuals had illegal firearms,” Stephens said. “Shots were exchanged upon the interaction with the police and those individuals, and unfortunately two officers and one suspect were hit by gunfire.”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka condemned the killer as “heinous.” “These are officers who got up yesterday morning to do their job, to go outside and make sure our streets were safe, to make sure 8-year-olds are not killed by stray bullets, to make sure our grandmothers could sit on their porches in peace, to make sure our neighborhoods are not overrun with violence and guns,” he said.
“They were doing their jobs getting intelligence about guns on the street and they went to the scene, a scene many of us would not have gone to, knowing that danger lives there,” Baraka added. “They went anyway, and unfortunately, one of our officers did not recover from that.”
Stephens confirmed that the automatic weapon the suspect used to allegedly open fire has been recovered by police. Five other people are being questioned.
Who was Joseph Azcona?
Azcona was a five-year veteran of the Newark Police Department. He had been a detective for two years. Officials said he was single and did not have any children.
Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda hailed Azcona as a “hero.” “Our heart is heavy right now,” Miranda said. “Our agency is hurting. We lost a true hero last night.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy mourned Azcona in an X post. “Detective Joseph Azcona represented the very best of law enforcement — honor, integrity, professionalism, and a deep commitment to serving the public,” he wrote. “An unimaginable loss for his family and the @NewarkNJPolice. May he Rest in Eternal Peace.”
Newark residents were shocked by the age of the suspect. "They got these young people running wild," resident Tracey Newell said, according to CBS News. "What is a 14-year-old doing with a gun? Fourteen-year-olds play basketball, read books, want to be the next Michael Jordan, want to be the next scientist, not having guns and killing people who are there to serve and protect us."
Joseph Azcona’s mother speaks out
Azcona’s mom, Martha Vargas, 56, remembered the Newark cop as her “baby.” “That was my baby. He always said he wanted to be a cop when he was little and when he grew up he took the test,” Vargas told the New York Post.
Vargas said when she was called to the hospital by her nephew, she did not expect to see her son on his deathbed. “I thought it was something simple,” she said. “When I went to the hospital, he was like that. They shot him in the head.”
Vargas said that she would worry about her youngest son because of the risk involved in his job as a police officer. “He was always saying he wasn’t in danger,” she said of Azcona.
Shocked by the killer’s age, Vargas said, “It’s crazy. It’s crazy. A young kid.”
“Sometimes you can blame the parents but sometimes you can’t. You don’t know what they’re doing. You cannot blame them. I don’t blame the parents, believe me,” she added. “You know how kids are when they get with other kids.”
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