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Newark Police Continue Search for Suspects in Officer Shooting

The Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Police continued to search Sunday for suspects involved in the shooting of an officer after a car chase over the weekend.

Officer Eduardo Patinho was hit in the face by one shot and his shoulder was grazed by another during the shooting early Saturday. He underwent surgery at University Hospital and was able to write out an account of the shooting, officials said.

Patinho and his partner, Officer Kimberly Gasavage, had been checking on a report of gunshots when they came across a stolen Jaguar, according to authorities.

The Jaguar led the officers on a chase that ended when the car stalled and its four occupants fled, firing at least two shots at police, authorities said.

The officers fired 17 shots, but it was not clear whether they hit anybody, said Newark Police Director Anthony Ambrose.

Two of the suspects were picked up by a stolen Subaru, which later was found abandoned.

Authorities were searching for the suspects on Sunday, police said.

A short time after the shooting, police found a cab driver who had been fatally shot. Ambrose said it was not clear whether the incidents were linked. He said the shot that killed driver Santos Solano, 34, was not fired by a police weapon.

Patinho was the fifth Newark law enforcement officer shot in the line of duty since July 1. The last Newark officer killed in action died in 1993.