A community in Newark is in mourning after a beloved street performer was fatally shot.

Eric "Uggie" Bowens was shot and killed on the 200 block of Bergen Street around 10:40 p.m. Monday, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Bowens was taken to University Hospital, but died from his injuries. Friends say that it was Bowen's 44th birthday.

"Uggie was a loving person. He didn't ask for this," says friend Ardelie McElroy. "He would make you just smile."

McElroy says that she wants the person responsible for the murder to turn themselves in.

Anyone who might have any information about the shooting is asked to call the prosecutor's tips line at 877-847-7432.