Mystery Surrounds Slaying of N.J. Councilwoman Killed in 'Targeted' Shooting While She Drove Home

Eunice Dwumfour, 30, was serving a term on the Sayreville Borough Council from 2022 to 2024

Eunice Dwumfour. Photo: Borough of Sayreville

A councilwoman in a New Jersey town was killed in an apparently targeted shooting outside her home, and police are still searching for a killer while loved ones and local officials grieve her loss.

Eunice Dwumfour, 30, a Republican member of the Sayreville Borough Council, has been identified as the victim. She was found with multiple gunshot wounds inside her car in the Parlin section of the borough just before 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 1, according to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

She was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

According to ABC News, Dwumfour lived in the townhouse complex where she was killed, and she appeared to be a "target of gunfire."

Sayreville Mayor Victoria Kilpatrick issued a statement Thursday morning saying, "As a community, we are shocked and saddened by the loss of Eunice Dwumfour."

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

Mahesh Chitnis, a member of Sayreville's Human Relations Commission, posted on Facebook that Dwumfour was "killed 300 feet from my home this evening."

"She was shot while returning back home," he wrote. "She was a woman full of life."

According to the council's official website, Dwumfour was serving a term from 2022 to 2024.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy also mourned the councilwoman's loss in a statement posted to his social media profiles, urging anyone with information to contact local law enforcement.

"I am stunned by the news of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour's murder last evening in an act of gun violence," he said. "I send my condolences to her family and friends, and the entire Sayreville community."

Juan-Nelia Rodriguez, who also serves on the borough's Human Relations Commission, posted a tribute on Facebook.

"She was an amazing friend, a woman who loved God," the post reads. "We were just at our HRC meeting January 5th 2023 and I just saw her this morning at the store. I remember saying to her I see you at the HRC meeting tomorrow not knowing tonight was going to be the end of her life."

Dwumfour has a background in information technology and worked as the director of churches for Champions Royal Assembly, an international ministry, according to her LinkedIn page. ​​She also earned a bachelor's degree in women's studies from William Paterson University of New Jersey in 2017, the profile shows.

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No arrests have been made as of early Thursday.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Rebecca Morales of the Sayreville Police Department at 732-727-4444 or Detective Michelle Coppola of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office 732-745-3477.