A New Jersey cop was shot and killed in a barrage of 29 bullets fired by a 14-year-old with an automatic weapon, before the teen was also shot, officials said.

Detective Joseph Azcona, 26, a five-year veteran of the Newark Police Department, didn’t stand a chance before he was gunned down Friday night.

He “was shot before he even had the opportunity to leave his police car,” Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens said at a news conference Saturday morning.

“We need to focus laser sharp on trying to find the reason why this 14-year-old was in the situation that he was — had a gun, felt he could use it against police,” Stephens added. “That’s a crazy situation. That’s one that cannot go unchecked.”

Azcona died at 2:34 a.m. Saturday at University Hospital, surrounded by his mother, father and several brothers, Stephens said.

Martha Vargas, the victim’s mother, said her family is struggling to come to terms with the tragic passing.

Vargas told The New York Times she rushed to the hospital when hearing what happened to her son and was at his bedside when he died Saturday morning.

“He has a lot of friends and a lot of family who loved him,” Vargas told the outlet.

A second unnamed officer shot in the incident was rushed to the same hospital, as was the alleged teen shooter. Both are expected to survive their gunshot wounds. 

Azcona and his partner were in the northern, Broadway section of Newark, just a few blocks away from the Passaic River in the city’s second police precinct.

The gunfire erupted around 6:30 p.m. near the intersection of Carteret Street and Broadway in Newark as Azcona, a member of the intelligence unit, and other officers working with the FBI and ATF, probed for guns, officials said.

“Based on criminal intelligence, the police were investigating the possibility that these individuals had illegal firearms,” Stephens said. “Shots were exchanged upon the interaction with the police and those individuals, and unfortunately two officers and one suspect were hit by gunfire.”

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka slammed the killer as “heinous.”

“These are officers who got up yesterday morning to do their job, to go outside and make sure our streets were safe, to make sure 8-year-olds are not killed by stray bullets, to make sure our grandmothers could sit on their porches in peace, to make sure our neighborhoods are not overrun with violence and guns,” Baraka fumed.

“They were doing their jobs getting intelligence about guns on the street and they went to the scene, a scene many of us would not have gone to, knowing that danger lives there,” he said, adding, “They went anyway, and unfortunately, one of our officers did not recover from that.”

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also mourned the fallen officer.

“Detective Joseph Azcona represented the very best of law enforcement — honor, integrity, professionalism, and a deep commitment to serving the public,” he posted to X.

“An unimaginable loss for his family and the @NewarkNJPolice. May he Rest in Eternal Peace.”

The teen, who was not publicly identified, faces murder and attempted murder charges, according to officials and sources. 

Law enforcement agencies throughout the country posted tributes to the fallen officer.

“The entire NYPD is mourning the loss of @NewarkNJPolice Detective Joseph Azcona,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s posted to X. “Every day, officers put their lives on the line to protect others, and today, we are painfully reminded of the sacrifices they make.”

A relative posted a photo of Azcona to Facebook, writing, “You are not gone I promise you that you will be in me forever.”

Police recovered the automatic weapon that the teen allegedly fired, Stephens said. Five other people who were there are also being questioned, he said.

It wasn’t clear where the second officer was when he was shot.

Azcona, who has been a detective for two years, was single and didn’t have children, officials said.

“The officers involved are heroes,” Stephens said.

Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda also called Azcona a hero.

“Our heart is heavy right now,” Miranda said. “Our agency is hurting. We lost a true hero last night.”

Newark experienced a 23% decrease in murder rate in 2024, dropping to a total of 37 total for the year, according to state statistics, though the overall crime rate rose that year by 9%.

So far this year murders are down in the city, with only five through early March, compared to seven in during the same period last year, according to Newark Public Safety Collaborative.