Long Criminal History Of Shooting Suspect In Jersey City Killings

JERSEY CITY – He was an Army veteran who was arrested at least five times since 2003, reports say. Yet David Anderson somehow managed to get free, and start a firefight that left six dead, including himself, in New Jersey this week.

Reports published this week revealed the long criminal history Anderson, 47, had long before he and another shooter, Francine Graham, 50, died along with four others in what Gov. Phil Murphy called a "hate crime" in Jersey City. 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 revealed 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, which 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 ran into:

• 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 for 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 Anderson 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 for 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 for another domestic incident, and his girlfriend was arrested in connection to the incident.
• That same year, Anderson had an active warrant through Hudson County for 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 say he was also arrested in 2003 and 2007 for unknown reasons.