A local New Jersey public official was gunned down this week outside her townhome, prompting police to hunt for the killer who has not yet been found, WABC-TV reports.
Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Eunice Dwumfour was found with multiple gunshot wounds inside her white Nissan SUV in Sayreville, New Jersey. She died at the scene, according to NBC News.
The shooting occurred at the Camelot at La Mer apartment complex, where the 30-year-old Dwumfour lived. She was a single mother but recently married a Nigerian pastor, Eze Kings Akwue.
Investigators are now combing through Dwumfour’s personal and professional life for clues about what may have led to the murder.
Police were seen using dogs in a wooded area behind the apartment complex, potentially searching for a murder weapon, according to WABC-TV. Witnesses said a gunman may have fled in the direction of the Garden State Parkway, and neighbors reported seeing someone with a hooded sweatshirt running and then jumping a fence following the shooting.
Dwumfour made a living as a business analyst and part-time EMT, but it was her political work that made her known in the community. Voters elected the Republican Dwumfour last year to a three-year term on the Sayreville Borough Council, ousting the incumbent Democrat. She had also served on the city’s Human Rights Council.
Karen Bailey Bebert, Dwumfour’s former campaign manager, said her boss appeared to be in a good place in her 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 told WABC-TV. “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.”
Dwumfour was reportedly deeply religious and had served in a leadership role at Champions Royal Assembly Church in Newark, where she grew up, according to WCBS-TV.
Ashlee Sullivan, who manages the property where the church leases space, got to know Dwumfour because she would drop off the rent payment.
“Very spirited, very faithful, very devout,” Sullivan said of Dwumfour, according to WCBS-TV.
Akwue, Dwumfour’s husband, posted a tribute to his wife on Facebook on Friday, the New York Post reports. The message referenced Dwumfour’s birthday in March.
“4th March is your birthday happy glorious birthday in addy my love,” Akwue reportedly wrote, according to the Post.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, issued a statement describing the shooting as “very specific” and that it did not seem to be politically motivated.
“I am stunned by the news of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour’s murder last evening in an act of gun violence. 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,” Murphy said.
“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 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.”
To report information about the case, call Sayreville Police at 732-727-4444 or the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-3477.
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[Feature Photo: Eunice Dwumfour/Instagram]
