Newark, Delaware: Shooting Near the University of Delaware Closes Main Street on Halloween Night

A shooting in downtown Newark late on Halloween night closed a stretch of Main Street next to the University of Delaware and sent crowds running, as police and emergency crews filled the area. The Newark Police Department said the shooting happened in the area of East Main Street and Choate Street on October 31 at about 11:13 p.m. Officers stayed on the scene through the night in what police called an active investigation.

What police have said

In a release issued at about 12:30 a.m. on November 1, police said that, based on the information available, there did not appear to be an ongoing threat to public safety. Main Street was closed from Library Avenue through Academy Street while officers worked, and drivers and pedestrians were asked to avoid the area and use other routes. Police later began opening portions of the road slowly, Delaware Online reported. The University of Delaware sent an emergency alert to its campus community at 11:29 p.m., telling people to avoid the area, NBC Philadelphia reported.

Emergency radio traffic pointed to a large police and medical response, including the Delaware State Police helicopter known as Trooper 4, Delaware Online reported. Videos posted on social media showed people running down the sidewalk and into the road as the response unfolded.

The scene downtown

Halloween celebrations were in full swing in the college town when the shooting happened. A video posted by Klondike Kate's, a restaurant and bar on East Main Street, showed crowds in costumes lined up around the building earlier in the evening, Delaware Online reported. By about 1:45 a.m., Main Street was quiet behind yellow police tape, and officers kept students and other people from walking through the closed stretch. The department's Mobile Command unit was set up in the parking lot behind Cameras Etc., and debris could be seen near the entrance to a parking lot between Cameras Etc. and Mango Mango.

Klondike Kate's posted early on Sunday that the shooting did not happen inside the business or on its property, and that it happened across the street. The business asked people not to spread unverified information and to let law enforcement carry out the investigation.

What is not known yet

Police have not released any information about injuries, and no arrest details were available, NBC Philadelphia reported. Claims about how many people may have been shot spread on social media overnight, but police have not confirmed any injury count, and those claims are not treated as fact here. Police said they would release more information as the investigation continues, and no additional information had been released by about 2 a.m. on November 1, Delaware Online reported. Delaware Online said the shooting is the first recorded in Newark this year in a database the newspaper maintains.