‘What would you do if Men in Masks Came at you w/Guns Pointed?” Newark Police Decline to Provide Details After Plainclothes Cops in Unmarked Car Fatally Shot Wali Bey through Windshield as He Fled

From [HERE] Wali Bey was sitting inside a white minivan with others when undercover officers approached in plain clothes wearing masks, family members told Fox 5. The men inside the minivan did not realize they were police and began to pull away, when an officer opened fire, striking Bey through the windshield, family members said to Fox 5.

According to the Attorney General's Office, the shooting occurred shortly after 1 p.m. in the area of Ross Street and Evergreen Avenue. Newark officers encountered several civilians in the area when the incident unfolded, authorities said. During that encounter, one officer fired his weapon, striking two of them, authorities said.

Authorities say Bey and a man who survived were shot at about 1 p.m. Monday, in the area of Ross Street and Evergreen Avenue in the city’s South Ward.

Mustafa Bey said his cousin and another man were in a parked vehicle when two cars without police markings pulled up, and several men wearing masks and civilian clothes got out.

He said the men approached his cousin’s vehicle with guns drawn, and that his cousin feared for his life and tried to drive away, but was shot.

“What would you do?” Bey said. “Men in masks coming toward you with guns.”

Bey was later pronounced dead at University Hospital in Newark. He is survived by his two children, ages 18 and 2, according to FOX 5.

The lack of information has frustrated family members and community activists, leaving an information void filled by speculation and accusations of a police “murder.”

Amid protests in the city, Mayor Ras Baraka and Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda issued a statement urging residents to allow the investigation process to take its course.

“A stream of misinformation has been circulating regarding details of the incident," the statement reads. “We understand that many in our community are hurting and need factual answers. “We ask our residents to trust the process by exercising patience and by understanding that the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office is conducting an impartial and independent investigation on behalf of the people of our great city."

Baraka and Miranda said they expect the investigation will be completed in 20 days. To read the FOX 5 story, click here.

A funeral for Bey was held Thursday, Jan. 22. [MORE]