New Jersey councilwoman fatally shot in vehicle, police say

SAYREVILLE, N.J. — A first-term New Jersey borough councilwoman was found shot to death in an SUV outside her home on Wednesday, authorities said.

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Eunice K. Dwumfour, 30, a councilwoman serving her first term in the borough of Sayreville, was found at around 7:20 p.m. EST, according to the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office. She had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene, The Associated Press reported.

The shooting took place at Camelot at La Mer, a complex of three-story apartment buildings and duplex homes, The New York Times reported.

Police said that Dwumfour was found in a white vehicle, which had rolled down a steep incline before crashing into two cars at the bottom of the hill, according to the newspaper.

Dwumfour, a Republican, was elected to her first three-year term in 2021, NJ.com reported. She also served on Sayreville’s human relations commission, according to the news outlet.

“Eunice was a dedicated member of our borough council who was truly committed to serve our residents,” Sayreville Mayor Victoria Kilpatrick said in a statement. “The fact she was taken from us by this despicable criminal act makes this incident all the more horrifying.”

Dwumfour was a mother and an IT business professional who had worked for businesses and churches at several places on the East Coast since 2014, according to MyCentralJersey.com.

“She was an amazing friend, a woman who loved God,” another member of the commission, Juan-Nelia Rodriguez, wrote on Facebook. “We were just at our HRC meeting on Jan. 5 and I just saw her this morning at the store. I remember saying to her, ‘I’ll see you at the HRC meeting tomorrow,’ not knowing tonight was going to be the end of her life. I can’t stop crying. She was 30 years young and full of life. You will be missed my dear, precious friend.”

Another member of the commission, Mahesh Chitnis, said he was “shocked, scared and heartbroken.”

“When she missed (an) HRC meeting she used to ask me to put her on speakerphone so that she could participate,” Chitnis told NJ.com. “We will miss her.”

Authorities did not say whether there was a suspect in the crime and have not offered any information about a possible motive. An investigation is ongoing.

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