The two people who fatally shot a police detective in a cemetery in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Tuesday before opening fire on a kosher market nearby were motivated by a hatred of Jewish people and law enforcement, officials said.
The FBI is investigating Tuesday’s attack, which left six people dead, as domestic terrorism with a hate crime component, FBI Special Agent in Charge Gregory Ehrie said at a press conference Thursday.
Police said David Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, fatally shot Jersey City police Detective Joseph Seals at Bay View Cemetery before driving to a Jewish market about a mile away and opening fire, killing three bystanders inside.
A fourth bystander, who has not been publicly identified by officials, was also inside the store when the gunfire began and was able to escape despite being wounded.
After an hours-long shootout that kept about a dozen area schools in lockdown for most of the afternoon, police used an armored vehicle to get inside the market, where they found the two shooters dead, officials said.
The suspects showed a clear bias against Jewish people and law enforcement, though investigators are still working to determine why they targeted Seals and that specific market.
“The cowards that took down those innocent victims engaged only the folks in that store and in the law enforcement community,” U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Craig Carpenito said at Thursday’s press conference. “We don’t know why and that’s where we are now.”
Investigators recovered several hundred shell casings and four firearms inside the market, including an AR-15-style gun believed to have been used by Anderson, a shotgun believed to have been used by Graham and two other guns. They also found a firearm outfitted with a homemade silencer inside the U-Haul van the shooters drove to the market.
“What we know at this point is that they had a tremendous amount of firepower.”
- New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal
The van also contained a live pipe bomb and was outfitted with ballistic panels, officials said. New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal confirmed the shooters left a note inside the van, but rejected media reports that described it as a “manifesto.”
“What we know at this point is that they had a tremendous amount of firepower,” Grewal said at the press conference Thursday. He declined to comment on whether the shooters intended to attack additional locations.
Evidence has surfaced that both shooters had expressed interest in the Black Hebrew Israelites, but investigators have not established a formal link to the group, Grewal said.
Black Hebrew Israelites are groups of Black Americans who claim to be direct descendants of the ancient Israelites. Various sects exist within the movement, with some offshoots holding anti-Semitic views. It has no connection to mainstream Judaism.
Investigators believe the shooters acted on their own, Grewal said.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop on Wednesday were two of the first officials to publicly describe the shooting as an anti-Semitic hate crime.
“I’m just glad that we’re all here in the same place calling it what it is ― that’s the only thing that’s important,” Fulop tweeted on Thursday about Grewal’s classification of the attack.
The three bystanders killed in the shooting were Mindy Ferenz, the 32-year-old wife of the market’s owner and mother of three; Moshe Deutsch, a 24-year-old rabbinical student; and Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, a 49-year-old father who was believed to have worked at the market.
“No community should go through this,” Fulop tweeted after attending Ferenz’s funeral on Wednesday night. “No family should be torn apart like this.”
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.