The suspects in a fatal Jersey City shootout have been identified. They are David Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, said New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in a press conference Wednesday.
They were the individuals who allegedly opened fire at a kosher supermarket, killing three people, including two members of the Jewish community in Jersey City. Police detective Joseph Seals was slain prior to that at Bay View Cemetery, authorities said.
The suspects killed three people inside the store, and injured a fourth, Grewal said. The Attorney General identified the slain victims as store owner, wife and mother of five Mindy Ferencz, 32, store worker Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, 49, and Moshe Deutsch, 24. The survivor escaped the store at the beginning of the incident, Grewal said.
Chilling video from outside of the store showed citizens running for their lives.
The alleged motive has not been announced, but Mayor Steven Fulop said Tuesday and Wednesday that evidence indicated the suspects “targeted” the supermarket. Authorities said one of the suspects made anti-Semitic and anti-police posts. They are also examining Anderson’s prior association with the Black Hebrew Israelite group, according to the New York Times.
AG Grewal said Wednesday the sequence of events in Tuesday’s shooting went like this. He said it was believed that at some point in the day, the suspect encountered and killed Seals at Bay View Cemetery. Later, at about 12:21 p.m., Anderson drove a U-Haul van about a mile away to the J.C. Kosher Supermarket.
“Within seconds of arriving, Mr. Anderson exited the driver’s side door of the U-Haul with a rifle in his hand,” Grewal said. “He walked toward the J.C. Kosher Supermarket, and immediately began shooting. Ms. Graham, the passenger in the van, followed Mr. Anderson into the store. From that point on, until the conclusion of the event, the two suspects remained inside the store.”
A long, drawn-out shootout continued between police and the suspects, according to the AG. The incident ended when a police armored vehicle broke through the entrance of the supermarket.
The suspects were killed, authorities said.
Grewal said that they are still investigating the motive behind the incident, and why the suspects opened fire immediately. He announced investigators also found a pipe bomb.
[Image of Jersey Office police officer and the crime scene via BRYAN R. SMITH/Afp/AFP via Getty Images]
