Newakr Police Director Samuel DeMaio, shown in this file photo, termed Calvin Johnson's death "tragic and senseless," and called on the community "to assist in our efforts to bring the person or persons responsible to justice."
NEWARK — The metal gates were down and Golden Pizzeria and Grill was closed today, hours after authorities said a gunman robbed and fatally shot the 55-year-old pizza chef, a family man and neighborhood fixture known for giving away slices to needy customers.
Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio said Newark resident Calvin Johnson was shot 11:13 p.m. Saturday, inside the pizzeria on South Orange Avenue at South 11th Street, and pronounced dead a short time later at University Hospital. No arrests had been made as of Sunday night.
DeMaio termed Johnson’s death "tragic and senseless," and called on the community "to assist in our efforts to bring the person or persons responsible to justice."
There have been at least 12 homicides in Newark this year, including Saturday’s, three fewer than during the same period in 2011.
Neighbors, local officials and others said Johnson’s killing was part of the ongoing violence in the West Ward neighborhood, which included the armed robbery of a shoe store across the street last week, and the Jan. 17 shooting death, also during a hold-up, of a bodega owner few blocks away. In that case, a 16-year-old was arrested in the death of Miguel Torres Peralta, 37, at the JNC MiniMart at 14th Avenue and 18th Street.
Margarita Castillo, 45, a clerk at Royal Liquors on South Orange Avenue, a block east of the pizzeria, said she was constantly on edge.
"They robbed all the other stores here, so I’m afraid I’ll be next," Castillo said.
West Ward Councilman Ron Rice Jr., said he would write to Mayor Cory Booker today asking him to consider a stretch of South Orange Avenue around the pizzeria for Operation Ceasefire, an anti-gang community policing program the city adopted last fall.
Calvin Johnson, 55, of Newark was working at Golden Pizzeria and Grill Saturday night when he was shot to death in the city's West Ward, authorities said.
"That particular area, I would say literally South 8th Street to, say, South 12th street, has been a problem in the last several years," Rice said.
Customers gathered outside the pizzeria this morning said Johnson had been a fixture in the neighborhood for decades, known for his skill at making pizza and his generosity in serving it.
Brenda Brown, 45, said she had eaten at the pizzeria since attending West Side High School, three blocks away. Brown said she had known Johnson from across the counter for at least 20 years, and he would often give away slices and even whole pies.
"He knew the neighborhood, he knew the customers, he was a real good guy, very hard-working man," Brown said. "He used to call me Shorty ‘cause I’m so short. I was shocked. I had to come up here."
Minister Thomas Ellis, founder of the Enough is Enough anti-violence coalition, said there would be a vigil for Johnson tomorrow at 5 p.m., in front of the pizzeria, to be held in conjunction with local business owners and the Greater Providence Ministry Baptist Church. Ellis said Johnson was a father of six who lived in the neighborhood with his wife, and had worked at the pizzeria for 30 years.
A longtime customer, Forrest Drennen, 61, said Johnson’s sausage pizza would often be Sunday dinner for him and his wife after church.
"Better than those chains where they make them like assembly line pizza," Drennen said. "This is the real deal."
"He was committed to his job," Drennen said of Johnson. "I don’t know why somebody would kill him."
• Newark pizzeria employee shot to death in West Ward, authorities investigate homicide