Solved case · 2019
JCKosherMrkt.MLKDr.Greenville.JCCredit: DjflemCC BY-SA 4.0SourceThe short answer
On December 10, 2019, two assailants fatally shot a Jersey City police detective at a cemetery, then drove to the JC Kosher Supermarket and killed three people inside before dying in a shootout with police. Authorities described the attack as a hate crime and act of domestic terrorism motivated by antisemitism and anti-police sentiment.
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Suggest coverage for 2019 Jersey City shootingOn December 10, 2019, a Jersey City Police Department detective, Joseph Seals, encountered two individuals, David Nathaniel Anderson and Francine Graham, at Bayview Cemetery in Jersey City, New Jersey while meeting a confidential informant. The assailants shot and killed Seals; his body was discovered by a bystander and reported at 12:38 p.m. The two suspects were in a stolen U-Haul van linked to the killing three days earlier of Uber driver Michael Rumberger in Bayonne, New Jersey.
After killing Seals, Anderson and Graham drove roughly one mile to the JC Kosher Supermarket in the Greenville section of Jersey City. At approximately 12:21 p.m., wearing tactical gear and carrying an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun, they opened fire on the store, directing their assault exclusively at it. They fatally shot store owner Mindy Ferencz, employee Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, and customer Moshe Deutsch, a rabbinical student. One customer was wounded and escaped out the back door; two other customers escaped uninjured. Two police officers were also wounded in the ensuing standoff, which lasted more than three hours before a BearCat armored vehicle rammed through the storefront and police killed both assailants.
Investigators found a live pipe bomb in the van capable of harming people up to 500 yards away, along with homemade ballistic panels, material for a second bomb, and a handgun fitted with a homemade silencer. Authorities concluded the attack had been planned for months and that the attackers had scouted the store repeatedly beforehand, including entering it during reconnaissance. Officials said a Jewish day school in the same building may have made it a target, and that the detective's encounter at the cemetery had disrupted a larger planned attack.
Anderson, who identified as a Black Hebrew Israelite, had posted hundreds of antisemitic and anti-police messages on social media. Attorney General of New Jersey Gurbir Grewal said evidence indicated the attacks were acts of hate and domestic terrorism fueled by antisemitism and anti-police sentiment. Anderson and Graham were also suspects in a December 3, 2019 shooting at a vehicle driven by a person identifiable as Jewish, and in the killing of Michael Rumberger, whose blood was found on a Bible belonging to the assailants.
In the aftermath, schools and the Jersey City Medical Center were placed on lockdown, and public transit in the area was suspended. Officials including Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio characterized the attack as a hate crime and act of terror. A Jersey City Board of Education trustee, Joan Terrell-Paige, faced calls to resign after posting comments about the Jewish community following the attack; she declined to resign. In November 2020, a grand jury found that the shooting of Anderson and Graham by twelve Jersey City officers and one Newark police detective was justified, and no charges were filed against them. The market reopened at a nearby location in March 2020.
Uber driver Michael Rumberger is killed in Bayonne, New Jersey; Anderson and Graham later identified as suspects.
Detective Joseph Seals is shot and killed by Anderson and Graham, identified by authorities as the assailants, at Bayview Cemetery in Jersey City; body reported at 12:38 p.m.
Anderson and Graham open fire at the JC Kosher Supermarket at approximately 12:21 p.m., killing three people; a standoff with police follows for more than three hours before both assailants are killed.
Authorities publicly identify the assailants as David Nathaniel Anderson and Francine Graham.
Officials announce evidence that Anderson and Graham had planned a larger attack against the Jewish community and law enforcement.
The JC Kosher Supermarket reopens at a nearby location.
A pawn shop dealer whose phone number was found in Anderson's pocket pleads guilty to being a felon in possession of a weapon.
A grand jury determines that the shooting of Anderson and Graham by police was justified and no charges are warranted.
A memorial bench honoring Detective Joseph A. Seals is created at 16th Street Park in Bayonne.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Employee of the JC Kosher Supermarket, killed while holding the back door open to help others escape.[3]
Jersey City Police Department detective shot and killed by the assailants at Bayview Cemetery.[3]
Uber driver killed by Anderson and Graham three days before the Jersey City attack.[3]
Owner of the JC Kosher Supermarket, killed in the store shooting.[3]
Rabbinical student and customer of the store, killed in the shooting.[3]
Assailant in the cemetery and grocery store shootings; killed by police during the siege before any prosecution could occur.[3]
Assailant in the cemetery and grocery store shootings; killed by police during the siege before any prosecution could occur.[3]
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