By Alan Feuer, The New York Times
A Newark, N.J. police officer was shot in the face and shoulder yesterday by at least one of four suspects he was pursuing in a car chase, the authorities said.
The officer, Eduardo Patinho, 36, remained hospitalized last night after surgery in Newark and was listed in stable condition, according to a statement released by the Newark Police Department. He was the fifth Newark police officer shot in the line of duty since July.
The police said they were still in the early stages of investigating the case, which began when Officer Patinho, a nine-year veteran of the force, and his partner, Officer Kimberly Gasavage, 30, who has served three years, responded to a report of shots fired about 4 a.m. at the intersection of Orange and Boyden Streets in Newark, the statement said.
There, the officers came across a silver Jaguar, which led them on a chase for several blocks west on Orange to North Sixth Street. The Jaguar, which had been reported stolen from Woodbridge, N.J., came to a stop on North Sixth Street and four men jumped out, the police said.
They fired two shots at the officers, both of which struck Officer Patinho, the police said. Officer Gasavage fired back at the fleeing men, possibly striking one of them, the police said.
Two of the men were picked up by the driver of a dark Subaru, which had also been reported stolen from Woodbridge, the police said. The Subaru was recovered a short time later on Hudson Street in Newark, but investigators were unable to locate the driver or any passengers, the police said.
Within minutes, the police received a report that a cabdriver had been fatally shot in the chest on North Seventh Street and Sixth Avenue, the police said. Investigators were trying to determine if the driver - identified as Santos Solano, 34, of the Classic Lincoln Service - might have been killed in connection with the car chase.
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Janon Fisher contributed reporting for this article.