As more information comes out about the hours-long shootout in Jersey City, communities are mourning the four people killed. NBC New York’s Jonathan Dienst reports.
What to Know
- One detective and three civilians were killed during a targeted shootout and standoff at a Jersey City kosher market Tuesday
- A motive for the shootout remains under investigation, but local authorities said video shows the deli was clearly the target
- Sources identify the suspects as David Anderson, a one-time follower of the Black Hebrew Israelites movement, and Francine Graham, whose neighbor said turned into a 'dark person' after meeting Anderson
A 39-year-old Jersey City police detective and father of five. A "caring and nurturing" mother of five who moved to Jersey City from Williamsburg. The "devoted" son of a community leader. A Brooklynite.
They are the four innocent people gunned down when a rifle-wielding duo stormed a kosher grocery store in what authorities have described as a "targeted" attack -- an attack that became an hours-long siege, with 100 bullets fired and all public schools forced locked down.
This is what we know about the victims of the attack at JC Kosher Supermarket on Martin Luther King Drive on Tuesday afternoon.
Det. Joseph Seals
Det. Joseph Seals, a 15-year police veteran and father of five, was the first person identified as a victim of two suspects who started the gunfire just after 12 p.m. Tuesday.
Seals, 39, first joined the Jersey City Police Department in 2006. The detective worked with the city’s Cease Fire Unit and was the department’s leading officer in removing guns from Jersey City streets, Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly said Tuesday.
Seals was publicly recognized as a hero in 2008 after saving a woman from a sexual assault inside her own home on Christmas Eve. He and a partner climbed a fire escape and broke a window, according to NJ.com, wrestling the suspect to the ground as he fought with officers.
A GoFundMe campaign established by the Jersey City police officers' union raised more than $183,000 by late Wednesday night.
Mindy Ferencz
Mindy Ferencz, 32, was identified as a victim Wednesday by the United Jewish Organizations of Williamburg and North Brooklyn, which in a statement called her a "pioneer" who was a "caring and nurturing mother for her five children." Ferencz and her husband were among the first from their Jewish community in Williamsburg to relocate to Jersey City because of skyrocketing housing prices, UJO said.
A life of selflessness, and dedication to others, full of love, was cut short by vicious hate-filled murders.
UNITED JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS OF WILLIAMSBURG AND NORTH BROOKLYN
Ferencz helped her husband run the city's first kosher grocery in the area, and to ensure the families in their new community had a place to shop for their own, UJO said.
"They did not do it for themselves, but to pave the way for a new community that lives harmoniously with their neighbors," UJO said.
Ferencz was working inside the market when the shooters entered and started shooting.
Moshe Deutsch
Moshe Deutsch, 24, was also identified by UJO in its statement Wednesday. The son of a UJO board member, Deutsch was dedicated to studying his Jewish faith each day, the group said.
Describing Deutsch as kind, generous and the "go-to person when his peers needed help," UJO said he followed in the footsteps of his father -- a pillar of its organization who was the driving force behind its largest Passover food distribution, one that helped many thousands.
In Williamsburg on Wednesday night, hundreds of members of the Jewish community turned out for the services for both Ferencz and later for Deutsch.
Those who knew Deutsch described him as a "lovely friend, a happy person trying to help other people making happy." The rabbi leading the service at the synagogue on Rodney Street frequently broke down, overwhelmed by his emotions at the loss.
The community lost a promising-upcoming charitable person who was spreading love and kindness. He was butchered by people filled with poisonous animosity.
UNITED JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS OF WILLIAMSBURG AND NORTH BROOKLYN
Miguel Rodriguez
New Jersey law enforcement leaders revealed Miguel Rodriguez as the final name at a news briefing Wednesday afternoon. He was 39 years old and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was a Brooklyn native.
He emigrated from Ecuador several years ago, and was working in the grocery store to provide for his family, who called him a "God-loving" and "honest" man. He had a wife and daughter. Funeral arrangements had not yet been announced for Rodriguez as of Wednesday night.
Jersey City Shootout: Continuing Coverage
Two suspects among six dead in barrage of gunfire that terrorized city for hours. Information continues to develop -- go to nbcnewyork.com/jerseycity for full coverage and latest details
