Sandy MaloneSayreville, NJ – A Republican Sayreville borough councilwoman was shot multiple times inside her vehicle in the parking lot of her apartment complex on Wednesday night.
Sayreville police said neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots in the Camelot at La Mer apartment complex on Samuel Circle just before 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 1, WABC reported.
Authorities said 30-year-old Sayreville Borough Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was found fatally shot inside her white Nissan SUV.
Investigators believe that Dwumfour’s vehicle traveled about 100 feet after she was shot before it slammed into two parked cars and stopped, WABC reported.
Witnesses said that a man fled the scene on foot and jumped over a fence before fleeing in the direction of the Garden State Parkway.
Acting on that tip, officers searched the woods behind the apartment complex for the murder weapon with police dogs.
Police are trying to find a motive for the murder of the 30-year-old immigrant from Nigeria who was elected to the Sayreville Borough Council in 2022, WABC reported.
BREAKING: New Jersey Republican Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was assassinated outside her home. This was the scene overnight in Sayreville where her white SUV crashed after gunshots rang out. Police say it appears she was targeted and are still searching for several suspects. pic.twitter.com/O01Scjcmpm
— Joshua Rodriguez (@Joshuajered) February 2, 2023
The black GOP candidate wowed voters and beat an incumbent Democrat to win her three -year-term on the council.
Dwumfour also served as a member of the Sayreville Human Rights Council, according to WABC.
She worked as a business analyst and was a part-time emergency medical technician (EMT).
Investigators said Dwumfour had recently married a pastor who lives in Nigeria and were asking questions about the councilwoman’s ties to that church, WABC reported.
“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,” Karen Bailey Bebert, who was Dwumfour’s campaign manager last year, said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is assisting the Sayreville Police Department and the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office in their investigation of the councilwoman’s murder, WABC reported.
Hmm. Black Republican council woman shot 7 times in what FBI seems may be a personal and targeted attack.
Eunice Dwumfour will neither the coverage nor the outrage her male counterparts get when they’re murdered.
7 bullets to the face. pic.twitter.com/veWzpybAC5
— Stella Be Stating 🚺 📄 (@StellaBeStating) February 3, 2023
My heartfelt thoughts are with the family, friends, and colleagues of Eunice Dwumfour. pic.twitter.com/Ftoy0U84xS
— Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver (@LtGovOliver) February 3, 2023
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said on Feb. 2 that the shooting felt “very specific” but didn’t look politically motivated.
“I am stunned by the news of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour’s murder last evening in an act of gun violence,” Murphy said in a statement. “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 statement continued.
“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.
Holly Matkin
