NJ councilman Russell Heller shot dead in car, second politician slaying in the state within week
New Jersey councilman Russell Heller was shot dead in his car on Wednesday, making him the second local politician to fall victim to gun violence in the Garden State within a week.
The 51-year-old was gunned down by a former employee around 7 a.m. in the parking lot of the PSE&G Somerset Central Division Headquarters in Franklin, NJ.com reported. Heller, who worked as a supervisor there for more than a decade, was pronounced dead on the scene. He also served on the Milford borough council in Hunterdon County.
“The Milford Borough Council is deeply saddened by the loss and our hearts go out to his family,” Milford Mayor Henri Schepens said. “He was so full of life, it’s just unbelievable that he’s gone. Something like this has never happened in borough history. We are very shaken by this.”
Authorities identified the gunman as Gary Curtis, a 59-year-old who once worked at the energy company. He was found dead in his car from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot some three hours after the slaying.
Authorities are still working to determine a motive in the shooting, but they do not believe it was politically motivated.
Heller’s murder came exactly one week after Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was gunned down near her townhouse, about 15 miles away from Milford. She was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds inside her white Nissan SUV after it crashed near the Camelot at La Mer apartment complex in Sayreville.
No suspects have been identified in connection with her death.
Authorities said there is so far nothing to link the shootings, and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office has said that Heller’s murder appeared to be “an isolated incident.”
