The New Jersey teenager accused of fatally shooting Newark Detective Joseph Azcona and injuring another officer, reportedly caught police attention just 40 minutes before the deadly incident. It was when he flashed the murder weapon during an Instagram Live session, The Post states.
As per reports, the 14-year-old brandished the gun online to intimidate a rival and unintentionally set off a chain of events that led to the terrifying March 7 shooting.
According to his aunt, Hadiyah Sorey, the teen left his North 9th Street home around 5:50 p.m. to meet friends at a nearby White Castle. It was there that he posted the video, showing off the ghost gun that law enforcement sources confirmed was later used in the shooting. The weapon had been illegally modified with a conversion device and it made the device capable of firing multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger.
The teenager was already on the police radar due to a history of arrests that includes robbery and other serious crimes. Law enforcement officials, working alongside the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), were actively monitoring his social media activity when the post was made.
“They saw the video, identified the location, and responded in an unmarked vehicle,” a source said. “They spotted him walking with a group of kids, called for backup, then approached and identified themselves as police. That’s when the kid immediately started shooting.”
Azcona, a 26-year-old five-year veteran of the force, was struck and killed before he could even exit his vehicle.
His partner, referred to as Manny, was also shot and he suffered critical injuries. He underwent surgery to remove part of his liver and intestines but was released from the hospital last Thursday.
The teen, who was shot in the leg and arm, is hospitalized, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. He has been charged with first- and second-degree murder.
At Azcona’s funeral, Manny was emotional while speaking about his fallen partner at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.
The teen’s aunt defended her nephew. She claimed he had been “shot at” the day before, which she said explained why he was armed. She stated that the officers, in unmarked cars and wearing ski masks, caused her nephew to panic and he started believing they were the shooters from the prior incident.
“He said, ‘I didn’t know y’all was the police,’” she told The Post. “He wouldn’t have shot if he knew.”
However, a law enforcement source refuted this. They asserted that officers clearly identified themselves, wore bulletproof vests marked “police,” and had their shields displayed.
The 14 year old who murdered Joseph Azcona, a police officer in New Jersey will not be tried as an adult.
Should he should be?
And if convicted, should he face the death penalty for killing a police officer? pic.twitter.com/HsZgXHQcY9
— sovereignX (@sovereign_x) March 10, 2025
Sorey described her nephew as a “good kid” who had now “f–ked his whole life up at 14.”
“Do you really think a 14-year-old wants to kill a cop?” she asked. “His life’s over.” She also blamed social media for influencing young people and called it a platform that “misguides” kids. The teen’s mother, Rabiyah Sorey, declined to comment when approached at her home.
The family of the accused might be grappling with the fallout but none are suffering more than Azcona’s loved ones.
“He was a really good police officer; a good person,” a law enforcement source said. “He really, really loved this job.”
