'Hate' Note Reportedly Left By Attacker In Jersey City Killings

JERSEY CITY, NJ – One of the suspected shooters in what Gov. Phil Murphy called a "hate crime" that left six dead reportedly left behind a note expressing anger before the killings took place.

David Anderson, 47, who targeted a Jewish grocery store in Jersey City, left behind a handwritten note that said, “I do this because my creator makes me do this and I hate who he hates,” according to nj.com and The New York Post.

The note, The Post said, was found inside the stolen U-Haul van that Anderson and Francine Graham, 50, drove to a kosher grocery after killing Detective Joseph Seals, 39, of North Arlington, in a cemetery.

Reports published this week also indicated a long criminal history by Anderson before he and the other shooter, Graham, died along with four others.

Read more: Gov. Murphy: Jersey City Attack Was 'Hate Crime'; Video Released

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said the two were also the primary suspects in a Bayonne murder over the weekend. Read more: Man Found Beaten To Death In Car Trunk In Bayonne

The New York Times also reported that Anderson 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 movement has been called a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center but has no connection to mainstream Judaism.

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

But links have been made to criminal activity that stretches back nearly two decades. Here are some of the troubles Anderson encountered:

• Anderson served in the Army reserves for four years as a specialist, repairing fuel and electrical systems, according to The Record. But four months before he left the Army, he was arrested in May 2003 and was in jail at the time of his military discharge. It's not clear what the offense was.
• In 2009, he was living with his girlfriend in Kent, Ohio, when police were called to the home concerning a domestic dispute, according to The Record. Anderson's girlfriend told police that during the argument, he punched a hole in a closet door and, at one point, grabbed her cheeks and said: "I'm gonna kill you. I feel like killing you. You made me lose everything, you can leave this world. Call the police because I'm gonna kill you," according to The Record and News5 Cleveland.
• Anderson was arrested in connection with domestic violence threats, and he was convicted of criminal mischief that year, according to News5.
• In 2011, Anderson was arrested again in Kent; he was living with the same girlfriend and her children without the consent or knowledge of authorities, according to News5. Police were called to the home concerning another domestic incident, and his girlfriend was arrested in connection with the incident.
• That same year, Anderson had an active warrant through Hudson County regarding a weapons violation; he was sent to state prison in 2011 after being convicted but was paroled after serving a little more than four months of a multi-year sentence, according to The Record. Hudson jail records indicate he was also arrested in 2003 and 2007, for unknown reasons.