Suspects, Victims ID'd After 6 Killed In Jersey City Shooting

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday called the shooting that killed six people in Jersey City "an attack against all 9 million of us who call ourselves New Jerseyans" one day after the hourslong standoff with two heavily armed shooters. Those who were killed – the two suspects, three civilians and a police officer – were also identified, and officials said a kosher grocery where five of the people died was apparently targeted in the attack.

State officials weren't ready yet to call the incident a hate crime, saying it was too early to speculate as more details were revealed at a mid-day press conference. Videos from Tuesday show the horrifying scene, with war-like gunfire booming in the background, outside of the Jersey City Kosher Supermarket.

Later in the day, however, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop called the fatal shootings a hate crime, saying any description short of that is a "disservice to Judaism."

Murphy did say that "an attack on our Jewish community or, for that matter, any community in what may be the most diverse state in the United States is an attack against all 9 million of us who call ourselves New Jerseyans."

The suspects who were killed were David Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, according to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, appearing with Murphy at the mid-day press conference. Grewal said the two were the main suspects in a Bayonne murder over the weekend. Read more: Man Found Beaten To Death In Car Trunk In Bayonne

Moshe Hersh Deutsch, 24, and Leah Mindel Ferencz, 32, who owned the kosher grocery store with her husband, were identified as two of the civilian victims. Miguel Jason Rodriguez, 49, who emigrated from Ecuador three years ago, was also killed, Grewal said. One person who was inside the store managed to escape and survive; that person wasn't identified.

Rodriguez has a wife and a daughter, 11, and had been working at the bodega for about a year, Machazek told USA Today. Two of the civilian victims were identified as Brooklynites; it wasn't immediately clear which ones were from New York City borough.

Detective Joseph Seals, 39, a married father of five, was killed by the suspects in Bayview Cemetery on Garfield Avenue prior to the shootings at the bodega, according to Police Chief Mike Kelly. A GoFundMe page was set up to help the family. Read more: Cop Killed In Jersey City Standoff: A Hero Before; A Hero Now

It's not immediately clear why the shooting took place at the cemetery, but "we believe (Seals) was killed while trying to interdict these bad guys," Kelly said. “Detective Seals was working. I can just say that he came upon bad guys. I don’t know yet how he got there.”

Grewal said the Office of Attorney General is "not in the position to say definitively why the suspects decided to stop in front of the supermarket and fire immediately."

After extensive review of the city's video system, however, Fulop said it's "now become clear from the cameras that these two individuals targeted the kosher grocery location."

Officials said they're basing their determination on this: The shooters took a truck to the kosher grocery, left it, bypassed other people in front of the store and immediately attacked location with their long guns.

"Based on our initial investigation (which is ongoing), we now believe the active shooters targeted the location they attacked," Fulop said. "Due to an excess of caution, the community may see additional police resources in the days/weeks ahead. We have no indication there are any further threats."

Fulop also said on Twitter: "I’m Jewish and proud to live in a community like #JerseyCity that has always welcomed everyone. It is the home of #EllisIsland and has always been the golden door to America. Hate and anti-Semitism have never had a place here in JC and will never have a place in our city."

Several areas of New Jersey took steps to protect Jewish residents on Wednesday, providing extra patrols in a number of neighborhoods.

Related:

• Lakewood Police Increase Patrols After Jersey City Shooting
• More Security At Hoboken Jewish Ctrs. After Jersey City Shooting
• Bergen Steps Up Patrol After Jersey City Shooting

On Wednesday morning, The New York Times revealed that one of the suspects published anti-Semitic and anti-police posts online.

Anderson also appeared to have a connection to the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, a law enforcement official told The Times. The Black Hebrew Israelites have no connection with mainstream Judaism, but it's been described as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, according to the report.

At about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, Murphy spoke with President Donald Trump about the shootings in Jersey City. Murphy thanked the president for the swift response of the federal government, including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Incident began as a possible homicide investigation in Bayview Cemetery

The incident started at Bayview Cemetery just after noon Tuesday and was possibly related to an ongoing homicide investigation, Kelly said. Seals saw a U-Haul truck possibly linked to a murder over the weekend in Bayonne, Kelly said.

As Seals approached the truck, one of the suspects got out of the car and shot him. Seals was shot once in the back of the head, behind the ear, police said. He died at the Jersey City Medical Center.

From the cemetery, the two suspects drove to the Jersey City Kosher Supermarket at 223 Martin Luther King Drive. They arrived at the grocery store in the stolen U-Haul van, wearing all black and carrying long guns. A pipe bomb was found in the stolen U-Haul, Grewal said.

The truck was driven by Anderson, who parked across the streeet from the grocery store, about a mile away from the cemetery, Grewal said. Anderson exited the driver-side door and immediately began shooting. Graham follwed him into the grocery store, where they found four people.

Three of the people – Deutsch, Ferencz and Rodriguez – were killed while another escaped, Grewal said.

The shooting suspects holed up inside the store, where they continued firing at officers for hours.

As soon as police arrived at the grocery store, they were immediately met with "high-powered rifle gun fire," Kelly said. "At that time, we were learning that we had another officer down on Garfield Avenue. That was Detective Joseph Seals."

The standoff started at about 12:38 p.m., and it wasn't until shortly after 3:25 p.m. that the two shooters had been taken down by police. It was at that time, Grewal said, that an armored police vehicle broke through the entry way of the grocery store.

"We took gunfire for hours," Kelly said. "Our officers were under gunfire for hours."

Two other officers, Mariela Fernandez and Ray Sanchez, were hit by gunfire, he said. All are expected to recover.

"(Seals) gave his life," Fulop said. "Another officer was shot in the shoulder. And two officers are receiving medical treatment due to shrapnel."

For a nearly three-hour span, bullets could be heard echoing across MLK Drive; all city schools were on lockdown, and police were telling people in the Greenville section of the city to get inside and off the streets.

The shooters fired at anyone they saw, including firing shots at the nearby Sacred Heart School, a private Catholic elementary school on Bayview Avenue, police said.

Police eventually sent a robot inside the grocery store, where they found the bodies of the two shooters and three civilians. Police think the three civilians inside the store had been killed by the shooters, Kelly said.

When asked by a reporter, the mayor said this does not appear to be an incident of terrorism.

A barrage of gunfire can be heard in this video:

This dramatic video shows police officers scrambling for cover as shots ring out on the streets of Jersey City (viewer discretion advised; some viewers may find the content disturbing):

President Trump, governor issue statements

Tuesday's shootout in Jersey City was so serious that Trump and Murphy were briefed.

"I have been briefed on the unfolding situation in Jersey City," said Murphy said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the men and women of the Jersey City Police Department, especially with the officers shot during this standoff, and with the residents and schoolchildren currently under lockdown."

Read more: Fake Fundraisers Profiting From Jersey City Shooting, Cops Warn

Every school in the Jersey City public school district was placed on lockdown, and all public school students were safe, the mayor said.

"All students and staff are safe; however every school is on lockdown," the Jersey City school district tweeted. Bayonne public schools are also on lockdown, the Bayonne Board of Education tweeted.

Both Jersey City exit ramps on the New Jersey Turnpike and 14B - Liberty State Park were closed to traffic. NJ Transit also suspended light rail service in that area.

"I have every confidence in our law enforcement professionals to ensure the safety of the community and resolve this situation," Murphy said. "Today reminds us of their bravery and the sacrifices they, and their families, make for our communities."

Carly Baldwin reported for this story