An arrest has been made in the murder of Republican New Jersey councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, who was gunned down outside of her Virginia apartment Feb. 1, authorities announced Tuesday.
Police arrested Rashid Aly Bynum, 28, in connection with Dwumfour’s murder after an exhaustive investigation led by Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone, the New Jersey Globe reported.
“The murder has shaken the community and no arrest will bring back the late councilwoman,” Ciccone said, according to ABC 7 News.
BREAKING: An arrest has been made in the shooting death of New Jersey councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour in February, a prosecutor says. https://t.co/oi4m5yWg1H
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 30, 2023
Dwumfour, 30, was shot to death in her SUV outside her apartment complex in Sayreville, in what authorities believed to be a targeted murder. The councilwoman’s 12-year-old daughter, Nicole Teliano, was reportedly inside the apartment waiting for her mother to park the car when she thought she heard fireworks.
“We were waiting for my mom to look for a parking space, and then she was taking a lot of time. So we started calling her over and over again, but it wouldn’t pick up. And then we heard gunshots, and we started calling the police,” Teliano said, according to CBS News. (RELATED: Second Republican Council Member Shot Dead A Week After Unsolved Murder Of Colleague)
Witnesses to the murder reported seeing a white vehicle near the shooting, which eventually led police to Bynum, who worked with Dwumfour at a Nigerian-based church and owned a white Hyundai Elantra, the Globe reported. Using data obtained from cell phone towers, law enforcement officials were able to place Bynum near the scene of the crime and later to Smithfield in southeastern Virginia, where he was later arrested, according to the outlet.
Bynum is currently awaiting extradition to New Jersey after being charged with first-degree murder and weapons possession, the Globe reported.