On the evening of April 15, 2023, a dispute on a Newark street escalated into a burst of gunfire that claimed the life of one man and injured three others. Corey Beasley, a 43-year-old Black man from Newark, was fatally wounded in the quadruple shooting that unfolded around 7:39 p.m. near a liquor store at the intersection of Leslie Street and Chancellor Avenue. When police arrived at the 400 block of Leslie Street, they discovered four people with gunshot wounds.
All four were rushed to University Hospital, but Beasley was pronounced dead shortly after, at 8:09 p.m. The other three victims survived their injuries and were listed in stable condition. A fifth individual was also in the line of fire but managed to escape unharmed.
The investigation into the shooting led authorities to Antuane Gregory, a 42-year-old man from the neighboring town of Irvington. Gregory was apprehended in a wide-ranging warrant sweep across Essex County that took place in April 2023. He was subsequently charged with a host of serious crimes, including murder, four counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault, and several weapons offenses. The incident was not Gregory's first violent crime; he had a significant criminal history that included a conviction for aggravated manslaughter stemming from a 2002 case, for which he had served a 13-year prison sentence. His record also detailed prior charges for drug distribution and weapons possession.
Following a six-day trial, an Essex County jury convicted Antuane Gregory, then 46, of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and weapons offenses on October 10, 2025. Prosecutors revealed during the trial that the violence began with a heated verbal argument. Gregory then pulled out a handgun and fired into the group of five people, striking Corey Beasley four times. Assistant prosecutors described the shooting as a senseless act of violence that was entirely avoidable. Gregory is scheduled to be sentenced on November 21, 2025, and faces a prison term of at least 30 years to life.
