A second Republican New Jersey councilman was gunned down on Wednesday just one week after a councilwoman from a different county in the state was killed.
Milford councilman Russell Heller, 51, was in his car in the parking lot of the office building where he worked when a former employee confronted him and shot him, according to a statement from the Somerset County prosecutor’s office.
Police arrived at the scene to find the victim in the car. The assailant was identified by police as Gary T. Curtis, 58, who used to work at Heller’s utility company. Curtis was discovered hours later in a nearby town dead in a car with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the statement said.
Republican Representative Tom Kean, who represents New Jersey’s seventh congressional district, responded to the tragedy Wednesday night, saying he was “shocked and saddened by the tragic murder.”
“Russell was an outstanding public servant who proudly represented the river town he loved,” he tweeted. “My prayers are with his family and the Milford community.”
Last Wednesday, Sayreville councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was shot to death outside her New Jersey home by an unidentified gunman, who has still not been apprehended. Dwumfour had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
Victoria Kilpatrick, the mayor of Sayreville, N.J., where Dwumfour served on the borough council, said she was “taken from us by a despicable criminal act.”
“Beyond her dedication to our 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 a community leader,” the mayor said. “On a personal note, I can’t adequately express my feeling of sorrow at the loss of a friend.”
Police have not yet provided updates about potential suspects or motive in the Dwumfour case. Detectives obtained possession of Dwumfour’s phone and have been searching for evidence that could help explain how the killing happened.
Police have not yet determined any connection between the two killings, which come as prominent Democrats have increasingly taken to demonizing their political opponents as threats to democracy.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has identified white supremacists and other right-wing extremists as the primary national-security threat facing the country. And in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Biden connected the attack on Paul Pelosi to the events of January 6.