Jersey City gunmen and more victims identified

Attackers David N. Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, both died during the shootout with police at the JC Kosher Supermarket in Jersey City, N.J., on Tuesday. Investigators said the pair had previously identified themselves as Black Hebrew Israelites, a group that reviles white people and Jews. They are also prime suspects in the murder of a livery driver in nearby Bayonne, N.J., over the weekend. Two members of the Orthodox Jewish community died in the attack, including store owner Mindel Ferencz and rabbinical student Moshe Deutsch, along with store employee Douglas Miguel Rodriguez and Jersey City Police Detective Joseph Seals.

Were the attackers targeting anyone? New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal on Thursday referred to the attack as domestic terrorism and called it a hate crime that targeted Jews and the police. Investigators continue to comb through the suspects’ social media accounts to verify the motive. Earlier, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, along with New York’s mayor and governor, also called the attack a hate crime.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report in The Sift on the shooting.