Slain GOP New Jersey councilwoman's friend Pastor Nelia Rodriguez says she was a light to her community
Friend of murdered New Jersey Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour: This killing was personal. She was shot seven times in the face.
SAYREVILLE, N.J. – Police investigating the murder of New Jersey councilmember Eunice Dwumfour pulled a sneaker and what looked like an article of clothing from storm drain grates near the crime scene in their search for signs of her killer.
Sayreville Police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office used a K-9, a drone and construction equipment, among other investigative techniques, in the hours following the murder of 30-year-old politico Eunice Dwumfour, who was gunned down in her car Wednesday night.
NJ COUNCILWOMAN MURDER: BYSTANDERS RECALL SHOTS FIRED, UNUSUAL SOUND FROM CAR AFTER CRASH
On Thursday afternoon, investigators used a bulldozer to pull the grates from at least three different storm drains within the apartment complex where the crime occurred. An officer removed a sneaker from one, and what looked like a blue piece of clothing from another. It was not clear if either item was related to the attack on Dwumfour.
WATCH: POLICE INVESTIGATING NJ COUNCILWOMAN MURDER SEEN REMOVING FABRIC, SNEAKER FROM STORM DRAINS
Earlier in the day, officers could be seen examining the fence-lined perimeter of the apartment complex, where they established a crime scene shortly thereafter. The police K-9 searched the area – as well as other parts of the apartment complex – later in the day.
Investigators sifted through a dumpster within the crime scene, where they removed garbage bags one-by-one as they searched the interior before replacing the trash.
WATCH: POLICE CREATE NEW CRIME SCENE, SIFT THROUGH TRASH, WHILE INVESTIGATING NJ COUNCILWOMAN MURDER
Police appeared to focus their efforts on a section leading from the area of Dwumfour’s apartment to the fence-lined perimeter of the complex, which is adjacent to a busy roadway.
NEW JERSEY COUNCILWOMAN EUNICE DWUMFOUR SHOT DEAD OUTSIDE HOME IN 'DESPICABLE CRIMINAL ACT'
Dwumfour was shot and killed shortly after 7:20 p.m. Wednesday in her car within the parking lot of the Camelot at La Mer apartment complex where she lived, police said.
Neighbors at the tree-lined complex described to Fox News Digital how they heard several shots before Dwumfour’s white vehicle rolled several feet into multiple vehicles parked within the lot.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office said Dwumfour suffered "multiple gunshot wounds" and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators have not released any new information about the case since early Thursday.
Police searching sewage point at the Sayreville apartment complex where Eunice Dwumfour was killed on Feb. 1, 2023. The blue piece of fabric that was pulled from the grate is shown. (Stephanie Pagones/Fox News Digital)
Isaac Oppong, 59, learned late Wednesday from his wife that his vehicle, a silver-colored Mercedes sedan, had been hit.
"There was a lady downstairs who knocked on the door and said, ‘Your car’s been hit. They just killed somebody … the person hit your car,’" he recalled to Fox News Digital. Oppong, who has lived in the complex for nearly two decades, said he was at work at the time but returned home around midnight to see the police presence in front of his building.
Image shows one of the vehicles damaged after New Jersey Councilmember Eunice Dwumfour was shot and killed on Feb. 1, 2023. (Stephanie Pagones/Fox News Digital)
Oppong said his wife was watching TV around the time of the shooting and had not heard anything until the neighbor knocked on their door.
"I was thinking about it all night," he said. He later added, "Nothing like this happens … If it can happen here. It can happen anywhere. Because around here, I haven’t even heard a gun … I’ve been here for probably 17 years. I haven’t heard any noise."
Police with a K9 dog at the Sayreville apartment complex where Eunice Dwumfour was killed on Feb. 1, 2023. (Stephanie Pagones/Fox News Digital)
Another man, who was in the apartment complex visiting family at the time, said he heard "six or nine shots."
"When I heard the shooting, I told my cousin to get down," said the resident, who asked to remain anonymous. "I saw the car … rolled and slammed into those cars."
WATCH: AFTERMATH OF SAYREVILLE CRIME SCENE
He said several police vehicles arrived within minutes and "were trying to break the window of the car. Obviously it was locked."
The man further described how Dwumfour was the only person in the car at the time. In the moments after her car crashed into the other vehicles, he could hear the sound of Dwumfour’s cellphone receiving several text messages in rapid succession.
Police vehicles are seen near where Sayreville, New Jersey Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was shot outside her home Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (WNYW)
"I guess the phone was connected," he said. "So you kept hearing the phone notification go off, life a lot. Not like someone just randomly texting. It was more like, a lot of texting. Like dings, dings, dings, but you heard it through the car speaker."
He provided Fox News Digital with the aftermath of the crime scene, showing the white SUV that had careened into the other vehicles.
Photo obtained by Fox News Digital shows aftermath of the shooting involving New Jersey Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour (Obtained by Fox News Digital')
Glenn Skarzynski, a business administrator for the Borough of Sayerville, told Fox News' Nate Foy that Dwumfour "worked very closely with our police, fire and EMS as a liaison to the council."
He said Dwumfour had a young daughter and was very involved with her church.
Additionally, Sayreville Mayor Victoria Kilpatrick described Dwumfour as "a dedicated member of our Borough Council who was truly committed to serve all of our residents."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"As Mayor I have worked very closely with Eunice in her time on the Borough Council. 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 in to her daily life as a person and a community leader," Kilpatrick said. "On a personal note, I can’t adequately express my feeling of sorrow at the loss of a friend."
Fox News Digital's Haley Chi-Sing, Emmett Jones and Sarah Rumpf contributed to this report.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
