Two people who went on an hours-long deadly shooting spree Tuesday at a neighborhood market arrived in a U-Haul truck that contained a pipe bomb and began shooting “immediately,” New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal revealed Wednesday.
In a press conference Wednesday, Grewal confirmed the identities of three civilians killed and suspects who were killed in Jersey City Tuesday. The civilians killed were Leah Minda Ferencz, 32, who co-owned the store with her husband, 24-year-old student Moshe Deutsch were killed and Miguel Douglas, 49, was identified by his pastor Williams Machazek. One survivor, who was not identified, escaped right as the shooting began, Grewal said Wednesday. On Tuesday, Jersey City Police Detective Joseph Seals was identified as the lone officer killed in the shooting.
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The suspects were identified as David N. Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, Grewal said during the press conference. Though there have been reports that Anderson had ties to the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, Grewal said it was too soon confirm the “significant speculation” about the suspects.
“There’s significant speculation about the suspect’s motive, but we’re not able to say why the suspects began firing immediately,” Grewal stated, adding that investigators were still determining if anyone else is besides Graham and Anderson are involved.
On Wednesday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio offered an update and gave a public response to the shooting, saying that the shooting was a “premeditated, antisemitic hate crime.”
How it all began
The afternoon of gunfire exchange between New Jersey law enforcement and two suspects began when Seals detective stopped two people outside the Bay View Cemetery, suspecting them in an earlier homicide case.
While the detective was investigating, the two opened fire and fled, speeding off in a rented truck that had been reported stolen. A bystander would later call 911 after discovering the detective’s body in the cemetery Tuesday, Grewal said.
Anderson and Graham, police said, then drove about a mile, stopping in the Greenville community, a Jewish neighborhood, and Grewal said Anderson “immediately” began shooting after arriving at the store. Graham would eventually follow him inside the store. Shortly after the air would be filled with the ricochet of bullets, helicopters overhead and a swarm of law enforcement.
The bulk of the shooting spree occurred at JC Kosher Supermarket, 233 Martin Luther King Drive, where the three civilians and shooters were later found dead. In the midst of the gunfight, two officers were wounded but treated and released from a nearby hospital.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed that multiple officers were wounded in a statement via Twitter Tuesday afternoon, confirming that he had been briefed on the “unfolding situation” in Jersey City, where officers had been shot in the standoff with possibly two shooting suspects.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the men and women of the Jersey City Police Department, especially with the officers shot during this standoff...
I have every confidence in our law enforcement professionals to ensure the safety of the community and resolve this situation.”
The shooting uprooted students, residents Tuesday
Officials initially said at a news conference Tuesday evening, there was “no indication of terrorism.” However, late Tuesday night Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said on Twitter that officials now believe that the shooters had “targeted the location they attacked.” He added that, “We have no indication there are any further threats.”
President Donald Trump tweeted about the “horrific shootout” Tuesday evening, offering his support to local and state law enforcement still “on the ground” investigating.
The Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, Jersey City Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI field office in Newark all flocked to the chaotic scene Tuesday afternoon.
Martin Luther King Drive was shut down in both directions for several hours, as police attempted to quell the situation. Several local schools, including Sacred Heart, Lincoln, Snyder and Schools 12, 14, 29 and 41 were on lockdown. New Jersey Transit service was Tuesday evening as police assessed the area.
The New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association tweeted out their support to the officers who handled the deadly attack Tuesday.
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