Left: Eunice Dwumfour (via Borough of Sayreville). Right: Cellphone footage from a neighbor shows Dwumfour’s car after she was shot to death on the grounds of her apartment complex (courtesy @Pettydee__ / LOCAL NEWS X/TMX)
Police are searching for a suspect behind the shooting death of a New Jersey councilwoman who was killed in her car outside her apartment.
Eunice Dwumfour, 30, was found shot to death inside her white SUV on Wednesday night. Local ABC News affiliate WABC reported that her car crashed near Samuel Circle, close to the townhouse where she lived.
Investigators are treating the death as a homicide.
Authorities received a phone call at around 7:22 p.m. on Wednesday reporting that shots had been fired in the area of Samuel Circle in Sayreville, New Jersey, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Sayreville police responding to the scene found Dwumfour in her car, having “sustained multiple gunshots wound,” the prosecutor’s office said in a press release.
“Dwumfour had succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced on scene,” the press release said.
A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office declined to comment further to Law&Crime, advising in an email that the investigation is active and ongoing.
A neighbor apparently captured the aftermath of the shooting and shared it on Twitter.
yes movie shit pic.twitter.com/Y9ENDr7aUV
— muvaadee. 🫶🏻 (@Pettydee__) February 2, 2023
Dwumfour was elected to a three-year term on the Sayreville Borough Council in November 2021. She and fellow Republican Christian Onuoha defeated two incumbent Democratic candidates.
“Like you, Sayreville is my home, I love and cherish this town and it is my desire to help improve the lives of its residents,” her campaign profile said, according to the Sayreville GOP website. “In the past few years, we have seen many changes including a worldwide pandemic, but despite all, Sayreville still stands strong because of residents like you. Please continue to build up Sayreville by supporting me in this upcoming election on November 2nd, 2021. I am fully dedicated to building a better, stronger Sayreville, and with your support, we can create a brighter future for our wonderful town.”
“Eunice was a dedicated member of our borough council who was truly committed to serve our residents,” Mayor Victoria Kilpatrick said in a statement, according to local news outlet NJ.com. “The fact she was taken from us by this despicable criminal act makes this incident all the more horrifying.”
Kilpatrick described Dwumfour as a “woman of deep faith” who “worked hard to integrate her strong Christian beliefs into her daily life as a person and community leader.” She added that she couldn’t find words to describe the sorrow she feels at losing her friend.
In a statement, Sayreville police said that Dwumfour was the public safety liaison for the council.
“Councilwoman Dwumfour was a valued partner of the police department and dedicated to serving the Sayreville community,” the statement says. “Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time.”
Dwumfour’s GOP colleagues offered condolences to her family.
“My sincerest condolences to the family of Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour,” Sayreville GOP Chair Karen Bailey Bebert said on Facebook on Thursday. “May God bring you peace and God rest her soul.”
Bebert told the New York Times that Dwumfour, who also served on Sayreville’s human relations commission, had a daughter and “set a great example for others to follow: If you can see me, you can be me.”
This is a developing story.
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