In a heartbreaking case of senseless violence, authorities have arrested a 36-year-old man in connection with the fatal shooting of 9-year-old Yasin Morrison in Newark. The young boy, who had autism and was non-verbal, was shot and killed Friday evening outside his grandmother’s home.
Jesse J. Dunbar II has been charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and multiple weapons offenses, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday.
The devastating incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. when Morrison, his three-year-old sister, and another man were stepping out of a car and heading toward the door of their grandmother’s house on Osborne Terrace. The family frequently spent weekends at the residence, ABC News reported.
“The killing of any person is a tragic occurrence, but it is particularly heinous when an innocent 9-year-old child loses their life to all-too-common senseless violence,” Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II said in a statement.
Attorney information for Dunbar was not immediately available, and authorities have not yet disclosed a possible motive for the shooting.
The shocking loss of Morrison has left the community grieving, with many calling for justice and an end to the violence that continues to plague neighborhoods. As the investigation unfolds, loved ones and local residents mourn the life of a child taken far too soon.
