"Someone just got shot in the street" 911 calls released in shooting death of NJ councilwoman
SAYREVILLE, New Jersey (WABC) -- Officials have released the 911 calls in the fatal shooting of a New Jersey Councilwoman.
Eunice Dwumfour was a Republican borough councilwoman from Sayreville who was killed earlier this month.
Callers described the suspect wearing black and fleeing the scene of the crime.
"There was a shooting in our street," one caller said. "I'm in the tub and I heard gunshots and my fiance looked out the window and someone just got shot in the street."
The 30-year-old had just dropped off someone at her home and was heading somewhere when the shooting happened.
She was found inside her white Nissan SUV with multiple gunshot wounds, according to officials.
Police received a tip that led them to bring police dogs to the woods behind the apartment complex in a search for the murder weapon.
Neighbors think they may have seen the gunman run off toward the garden state parkway.
Prosecutors do not believe her political position played any role in the killing.
No arrests have been made and police are searching for a motive.
The FBI is now "involved" in the investigation, which includes Sayreville police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.
Though Dwumfour was a Newark native who still has family living there, she was living in Sayreville as a single mother. She had just recently married a pastor who lives in Nigeria.
Investigators are now asking questions about her ties to that church, but they're also digging into other relationships both personal and professional.
"She was happy with her new husband. It seems. Happy with her daughter, and she was living the life, the American dream. She was a beautiful motivated person, who did very well in the community," Dwumfour's former campaign manager Karen Bailey Bebert said. "I believe her daughter lit up her life. Jesus Christ lit up her life. She was very faithful and driven. She was a shining star."
Dwumfour was elected to the council in 2022. The Republican defeated an incumbent Democrat to begin a three-year term on the Borough Council and served as a member of the Sayreville Human Rights Council.
She was also a business analyst and part-time EMT.
Word of the killing spread quickly overnight through the political community in the state, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
In December, Gov. Murphy signed legislation banning concealed carry in so-called sensitive places, in response to last year's Supreme Court decision. It was immediately challenged by several rulings that chipped away at the state's ability to enforce in certain locations. One was just handed down by a federal judge Monday.
Murphy released the following statement, saying he was stunned.
"I am stunned by the news of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour's murder last evening in an act of gun violence. Her career of public service was just beginning, and by all accounts she had already built a reputation as a committed member of the Borough Council who took her responsibility with the utmost diligence and seriousness. I send my condolences to Councilwoman Dwumfour's family and friends, her governing body colleagues, and the entire Sayreville community. Sayreville is a proud, tight-knit, and safe community and I know that it will come together, as it always has, in common purpose. The New Jersey State Police are supporting the ongoing investigation, and I urge anyone with information to contact either the Sayreville Police or the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office."
The governor said on Thursday night that the shooting felt "very specific" but didn't appear to be politically motivated.
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