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Governor Phil Murphy assured the public that there is no ongoing security concern, noting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is working with Jewish and other communities of faith to address their concerns during a press conference at the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office in Jersey City.
"We saw the very worst of humanity," New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. "But in the response… we also saw the very best.
"Yesterday could have been far deadlier, and the reason it was not is due to the heroism of the men and women of the Jersey City Police Department, and also due to the close partnership... you see on display behind me."
The shooting remains a criminal investigation by several local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Numerous firearms and a pipe bomb were recovered from the scene, Grewal said.
Here's what we know, according to Grewal:
- David N. Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, encountered and killed Jersey City Police Detective Joseph Seals in the Bayview Cemetery at some point Tuesday, Dec. 10.
- At 12:21 p.m. a white U-Haul van parked across the street from JC Kosher Supermarket on Martin Luther King Drive, approximately a mile from the cemetery where Seals was shot.
- Anderson, who was driving, got out of the van and walked to JC Kosher Supermarket -- a rifle in hand -- and immediately began shooting, Grewal said. Graham, a passenger in the van, followed him into the store.
- The pair shot four civilians inside of the store. Three were killed and one was able to escape with injury at the beginning of the incident.
- Grewal said the three deceased victims are Mindy Ferencz, 32, Miguel Douglas, 49, and Moshe Deutsch, 24.
- At 12:38 p.m., JCPD received a 911 call from someone reporting the discovery of Seals' body in the cemetery.
- Meanwhile, JCPD personnel arrived in front of the kosher market, beginning what would become a "long, protracted shootout," Grewal said.
- At 3:25 p.m., an armored, police vehicle broke through the kosher market's storefront. Two minutes later, officers discovered bodies inside of the market.
- Law enforcement processed the scene immediately after.
"We are not in the position at this time to say why the suspects decided to stop inside of market and begin firing immediately," Grewal said.
Moments before opening fire at the Martin Luther King Drive market, the gunmen -- identified by authorities as David Anderson and Francine Graham -- were sitting in a U-Haul van linked to a weekend homicide at a nearby cemetery, the New York Times reported.
"On a more personal note, let me say that all of us in law enforcement stand with Jersey City -- a city that’s still reeling today," the attorney general continued.
"The city I was born, the city where so many people from so many corners from the globe first stepped foot into this extraordinary country.
"Where a kosher supermarket stands proudly across the street from a Catholic school, down the block from Dominican bodega. On a street named after Martin Luther King."
Grewal went on to say that Jersey City is a melting pot of people all "living in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.
"[It's an] American city, reflects the value and strength of our nation and the state we all proudly call home."
Other law enforcement officials in attendance were U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito, District of New Jersey, Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly, Colonel Patrick Callahan, New Jersey State Police, SAC Gregory W. Ehrie, FBI Newark, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez, Director Jared Maples, New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, SAC Charlie J. Patterson, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
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