Atlantic City police department patrol car-Atlantic City Police Department

Atlantic city police arrest 15-year-old with defaced handgun and heroin after shots fired alert — Atlantic City police department patrol car-Atlantic City Police Department

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — A 15-year-old male was arrested early January 17 after Atlantic City police responding to a gunfire alert discovered the juvenile in possession of a defaced handgun, heroin, and drug paraphernalia, the department announced Wednesday.

At approximately 2:24 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 100-north block of North Carolina Avenue following a ShotSpotter alert. Evidence of gunfire was located at the scene. While securing the area, Officers Patrick Yates and Ridge Gradel attempted to stop a male suspect who fled the scene.

The juvenile ran towards Officer Moustafa Maarouf while holding a handgun, ignoring verbal commands to stop, police said. During the chase, the suspect threw the weapon, which was later recovered. The defaced handgun was equipped with a laser sight and an extended magazine.

The juvenile was taken into custody and found to be in possession of 90 individual bags of heroin. Authorities confirmed the weapon will be sent to the New Jersey State Police laboratory for analysis to determine if it matches evidence recovered at the scene.

The suspect, whose name was not released due to his age, faces numerous charges, including unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a defaced weapon, possession of a large capacity magazine, possession of CDS with intent to distribute, and resisting arrest.

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