FBI Finds Van Connected To Jersey City Killings

NEW JERSEY – The FBI has found a white van connected to the deadly attack in Jersey City this week in what New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called a "hate crime."

FBI told Ramapo police that they were trying to locate a white 2001 Ford van bearing New Jersey license plate B40JSD in connection to the shooting deaths of six people in Jersey City on Tuesday The FBI said on Saturday that the van was found in Orange.

"If you see this vehicle, DO NOT APPROACH. Immediately contact the local law enforcement authorities, and reference the information in this post," police initially said.

It's not immediately clear what role the van may have played in the attack.

Surveillance video showed that the two attackers departed a stolen U-Haul truck and appeared to specifically target the Jersey City Kosher Supermarket in the Tuesday killings. Here is the video:

The suspects who were killed were David Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, according to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. The attorney general said the two were the primary suspects in a Bayonne murder over the weekend, and Anderson held anti-Semitic and anti-law enforcement beliefs. Read more: Man Found Beaten To Death In Car Trunk In Bayonne

Services were also announced for Detective Joseph Seals, 39, a married father of five, who was killed by the suspects in Bayview Cemetery on Garfield Avenue prior to the shootings at the grocery, according to Jersey City Police Chief Mike Kelly. Read more: Cop Killed In Jersey City Standoff: A Hero Before; A Hero Now

A GoFundMe page was set up to help the family of the officer, receiving more than $315,000 worth of donations in a single day. Read more: Fundraisers For Jersey City Shooting Victims Raise $315K In A Day

Other police officers were wounded in the attack. Sgt. Majorie Jordan, one of the officers on the scene, is being hailed as a hero after selflessly risking her life to rescue an injured co-worker. Read more: Jersey City Cop Rushes Into Deadly Shootout To Aid Fellow Officer

Moshe Hersh Deutsch, 24, of Brooklyn and Leah Mindel Ferencz, 32, who owned the kosher grocery store with her husband, were identified as two of the civilian victims. Grewal said two of the victims were Orthodox Jews, but he didn't say which ones.

Miguel Jason Rodriguez, 49, of Jersey City, 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.

Murphy said the attack is a signal to "come together as the broad New Jersey family we are and recommit to the elimination of hate in all its forms" and "we cannot wait until another domestic terrorist, filled with hate and bent on murder, gets their hands on a weapon, period."

“It now appears from law enforcement that the events that terrorized Jersey City on Tuesday were fueled by hate," Murphy said. "The murder of innocent civilians because of their religious beliefs, and the murder of a police officer for the simple reason that he was a police officer, must be the wakeup call to those who fail to see or acknowledge the rising tide of hate here in New Jersey, and around the nation.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Gregory Ehrie said his agency will "continue to investigate this as a domestic terrorism incident with a hate-crime bias, slant to it." Grewal and U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito echoed those remarks during a Thursday press conference.

"Our thoughts again are with the victims and the survivors of this senseless incident," Ehrie said, adding that authorities believe the two suspects acted alone. "All our efforts are to bring them (the families of the victims) some measure of justice."

Grewal said the two shooting suspects held views that reflected "hatred of Jewish people as well as hated of law enforcement," but were acting on their own.

"The evidence points toward acts of hate," he said. "We are investigating this matter as potential acts of domestic terrorism fueled both by acts of anti-Semitism and anti-law enforcement beliefs."

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, which has been called a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center but has no connection to mainstream Judaism.

Read more: Long Criminal History Of Shooting Suspect In Jersey City Killings

Grewal, however, said both suspects expressed interest in the group, but the authorities have not established direct links.

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

After extensive review of the city's video system, 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

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 the ongoing Bayonne homicide investigation, Kelly said. Seals saw a U-Haul truck possibly linked to the murder, 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 street from the grocery store, which was about a mile away from the cemetery, Grewal said. Anderson exited the driver-side door and immediately began shooting with an AR-15.

Graham followed him into the grocery store, carrying a shotgun, where they found four people. They killed three of them – Deutsch, Ferencz and Rodriguez – almost immediately while another escaped, Grewal said. The suspects shot at that person during the escape.

The shooting suspects holed up inside the store, where they continued firing at officers – but no one else – for hours, Grewal said.

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:

President Trump, governor issue statements

Tuesday's shootout in Jersey City was so serious that President 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."

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 and Eric Kiefer reported for this story