The FBI is involved in the investigation of the murder of a New Jersey Republican council member who was killed Wednesday evening, according to WABC-TV.
Eunice Dwumfour, a member of the Borough Council of Sayreville, near New York City, was shot in her vehicle near her townhouse about 7:30 p.m.
“We are aware of the investigation into the death of Councilwoman Dwumfour, in Sayreville Wednesday evening,” the FBI said in a statement, WABC reported Friday.
“We have talked with our local law enforcement partners at the Sayreville Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office,” it said. “Should they ask us for any assistance, we will do all we can to help their investigation.”
Witnesses said they might have seen an individual running from the area in which Dwumfour was killed toward the Garden State Parkway, WABC reported. No motive for the killing has been determined.
Pastor Nelia Rodriguez, a friend of Dwumfour, said Thursday on the Fox News show “The Ingraham Angle” that Dwumfour’s shooting was a targeted “personal attack.”
We need Justice for Eunice Dwumfour! https://t.co/oI2rrylbTG pic.twitter.com/JdBWLKX11U
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) February 2, 2023
“We believe it [was] very personal because she was shot seven times in the face and another seven shots were hitting everywhere [else]. So for somebody to get so close to somebody and shoot them so many times, it has to be personal,” she said.
Do you think there was a political motive in this killing?
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Rodriguez said there was “probably not an answer” for why Dwumfour was killed.
“Why would somebody do that? Somebody who has no heart, somebody who has no love for community, somebody who could have been jealous. It could have been many reasons why somebody would hurt somebody like her, who was such a beautiful soul, who loved everybody, who always smiled,” she said.
“She never said no. She would take her jacket off to give it to you. Her soul was so beautiful. She was such a light to everybody in the community. That is horrifying to even think of anybody trying to hurt her,” Rodriguez said.
A report in the U.K.’s Daily Mail said Dwumfour was living with her 12-year-old daughter from a former marriage and had married a pastor who lives in Nigeria in late November.
Dwumfour’s former campaign manager, Karen Bailey Bebert, told WABC that she did not think any clouds were hovering over Dwumfour’s life.
“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,” 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,” she said.
According to New Brunswick Today, Dwumfour was a pastor at the Champions Royal Assembly, an African church that had a location in Newark.
“Eunice was a dedicated member of our borough council who was truly committed to serve our residents,” Mayor Victoria Kilpatrick said in a statement, according to NJ.com. “The fact she was taken from us by this despicable criminal act makes this incident all the more horrifying.”
“Beyond her dedication to the community, I can share that she was a woman of deep faith and worked hard to integrate her strong Christian beliefs into her daily life as a person and community leader,” she said.
Dwumfour was elected to the council in 2021. She worked as an IT professional, according to WNBC-TV.
