Authorities say a 7-year-old boy, identified by the family as Ayden Brown, was found unresponsive inside a home on Weequahic Avenue in Newark.
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Police had responded to a call of a sick or injured person around 8 a.m.
The boy was rushed to Beth Israel Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The circumstances of his death are unknown at this time.
"He's a 7-year-old kid," the victim's cousin, Sonia Monroe, said. "He's bubbly, full of life, full of energy. He's a great kid. He's a great kid. A great kid."
Newark police are reportedly looking for the mother's boyfriend, who they say left the scene in a blue 2012 Nissan Altima.
"Turn yourself in," Monroe said. "It's not fair. It's not fair to the parents. It's not fair to the mother. It's just not fair that he had to suffer. He suffered. They hurt him. That's my cousin. They killed him."
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The incident remains under investigation.
"Ayden was a healthy young man, Ayden was a good little boy," the victim's great aunt, Judy Ingram, said. "You take a life, your's is going to be taken too. He didn't have to do my great nephew like that. So he will be punished."
No arrests have been made, and the Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
"It's shocking that it happened on this block," neighbor Victoria Knight said. "Our community is real quiet, you know? We don't have no problems. Everybody looks out for the other one."
Newark Police Director Anthony Ambrose is urging anyone with information about any criminal or suspicious activity to call the Department's 24-hour Crime Stopper tip line at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477) or 1-877-NWK-GUNS (1-877-695-4867).
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